BLEACH: Revenant's Zeal
by frozenseed
Summary: One forgotten soul against the world and the 'god' himself. He was doomed to fail, but he would still give his all for this one last mission. His remaining sense of duty was the sole reason for him to keep going. It was also what made him even dare to seek her out. But, somehow through that woman who once his enemy, he would find a true reason to fight. (M to be safe)
1. see you again

**I'm not really confident with my English since it's not my main language but I hope you could still enjoy the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own BLEACH**

* * *

Eight years had passed since the fateful battle of Fake Karakura Town. For Aizen, it was a crucial point in his insane scheme, a chance to wipe out the only significant opposition once and for all. For the Gotei 13, their utmost important objective was to win at all cost because their sworn duty as the soul reapers made them could not and would not let their traitorous former subordinates achieved their twisted ambitions. So many preparations had been made for the battle, even went as far as creating a fake town to deceive Aizen and his army. Still, no one really knew Aizen's true potential with the cursed orb Hougyoku in his possession, but the Shinigami force had a trump card. They still believed no one could stand a chance against the might of the legendary Zanka no Tachi.

Things seemed to go as planned for the Gotei 13 at first. Even with the surprising arrival of a special bred Arrancar to counter Ryujin Jakka's powerful flame, Genryusai Yamamoto and the other high-ranking Shinigami managed to prove their resilience to their opponents. With the fall of Tousen and the top three Espada and their Fraccion and also the arrival of the Vizards as unexpected allies, Aizen himself and Ichimaru were the only ones left of the enemy forces. Still, they all knew better than to declare an early victory and later it was proven to be correct when Aizen once again pulled his cheap move to decimate his opponents effortlessly with the help of his illusion that had almost no realistic counteraction. Almost all of the Gotei 13's side main fighters left fatally wounded.

At that point, the Captain-Commander knew that they did not have any choices left and were ready to take full responsibility for his actions. By deciding to release his highly destructive Bankai, he would take the high risk of damaging the world of the living and disturbing the balance. Noticing this and the arrival of four new nuisances, (Yoruichi, Kisuke, Tessai, and Isshin) Aizen who was still rather far from his complete fusion took a gamble by releasing his own Bankai but with major enchantment from the Hougyoku. The result pleasantly surprised him since with the relatively untested technique he managed to flawlessly brainwash and mind-control all of his opponents including the mighty Captain-Commander whose old mind was a little too slow to make the vital decision.

Greatly satisfied with the outcome of the battle, Aizen ordered his remaining forces and his new brainwashed army to regroup and be prepared to launch an assault to the Soul King's realm. Meanwhile Ichimaru would accompany him to the real Karakura town in Soul Society to complete his plan of creating the Oken by sacrificing the town's residence. Aizen was fully aware with the Captain-Commander under his control this plan was no longer necessary since he could just use the original key that Yamamoto knew the whereabouts, but his sick mind reasoned that having a spare key would not hurt. Human lives were not worth that much to him and he believed they all should be grateful to be sacrificed for his effort since in the end he would be their 'god' after all.

Not much time needed for the Soul King and his palace to fall effortlessly on Aizen's hand with hardly any resistance. A new era of blight then began when the insane former Fifth Division Captain of the Gotei 13 completed his Hougyoku fusion and ascended to his so called godhood. Every known realm save for Hell fell under his domain and became mere places for him to shape however he liked. Every life form, humans, souls, hollows and everything else without exception were nothing more than the objects of his 'godly' will to bend the way he desired. No one dared to question him because even if he was not bothered to show his immense power, all of the possible armies that possessed any threats had fallen under his command willingly or not.

Soul Society and Hueco Mundo had not seemed to change much, but it was just because the new god had not yet been interested enough with those worlds to make any drastic changes. The surprisingly still survived Coyote Starrk was tasked to watch over Soul Society along with the mind-controlled Shinigami in Seireitei. Meanwhile, the revived Baraggan Luisenbairn had been granted his throne back in Hueco Mundo by his new god. They were in charge of their respective realms, but still had to answer every time their master issued commands with no question. At the very least, things didn't look that much worse in both realms on the outside aside from the very noticeable dark and gloomy atmospheres that let no one be delusional enough to believe nothing was wrong.

The most interesting but very much disturbing changes had happened to the world of the living. The humans had become nothing more than their new false god's playthings. With the newly developed absurd religion being forcefully spread all over the world, they were all had no choice but to worship Aizen as the only god. Select few Arrancar had been ordered to act as the 'prophets', leading the 'chosen' humans with decent spiritual awareness to work as the priests and priestesses. Every known government had been under heavy influence of the absolute religion and would obey every command from their new god, be it all out wars with each other or even mass genocides. All of those tragedies happened just to serve as Aizen's sick amusement and entertainments.

* * *

Somewhere in a nearly unrecognizable ruin of a city, a lone six feet tall male figure was walking on a dark, debris-filled street. The cold wind of the night slightly ruffled his snow white hair that showed its bright color momentarily when the moonlight was able to get past the heavy grey clouds for just a few seconds. Anyone with decent spiritual awareness could notice he was not human even though he looked pretty much like one (an exotic looking one) and wore a rather normal looking outfit. The black turtleneck, black fingerless gloves, and the also black trousers tucked under a pair of knee-high metal combat boots didn't make him look suspicious if he didn't also wear a long katana at his left hip. The sword itself would get him hunted or even executed if it got noticed by the government because it signified who he actually was, a possibility of the last surviving opposition to their so called god.

The young adult, Toushiro Hitsugaya was forever grateful to his Zanpakutou's Spirit Hyourinmaru for saving him from a fate worse than death underneath Aizen's control. The ice dragon's humanoid form had appeared soon after his master was cut almost in half and secretly took the by that time still child-looking Tenth Division Captain to the Frozen Heaven, his private spirit realm. Unintentionally the teal-haired spirit's bold action had not only spared his Master from Aizen's Bankai, but also given the worlds a last glimmer of hope. For around five years, Hitsugaya had spent his time in that spirit realm recovering and training with no company save for the ever faithful Hyourinmaru. The one good thing among all those misfortunes was his physical form had grown rapidly along with his prowess during his time in the Frozen Heaven. Sometimes he even wondered why he didn't make a trip there sooner…

It was not until he decided to leave the frozen realm to finally face the real world that he felt the full weight of the situation. Immediately he went sneaking around the worlds to gather information and hopefully could end up with some sort of plans. Alas after seeing the blight Aizen had brought upon the worlds with his own eyes and accepting the fact that he didn't even have one ally left made him fall into a deep despair. All of the training, hope, and determination had quickly ended up as barely more than fantasies. To put it simply, the ex Captain felt so small against Aizen and his army, his mind-controlled friends and allies, and the entire world all at once. Not even the wildcard Substitute Shinigami and his gang survived. They all also had fallen under the false god's will.

The memories of Rangiku Matsumoto and her constant annoying pattering for him to loosen up and have some fun are surprisingly the reason he could keep himself together. Those years of listening to her words had made them branded into his subconscious and for him to try some of them. Thanks to his genius mind, he developed a bracelet like device that made him visible to normal eyes without the need to use a Gigai. The device helped a lot when he decided to go out to socialize and 'have fun' with people 'his age'. At first he was slightly uncomfortable when nearly all females' eyes strangely turned toward him, but he stood his ground and continued on his mission to loosen up and 'have fun'. Though after engaging a few light conversations with various young men and women, he concluded it was as bad as he first imagined.

Surprisingly or not, the deciding factor in practicing the 'great' Matsumoto's lecture came when a very attractive older looking lady offered the teenager looking Shinigami to accompany him for the night. Fighting hard the awkwardness and dilemma, he accepted the offer and let her join him at his place to have some 'real fun' together. From that point, the ex Captain finally realized the true essence of his Lieutenant's teachings and reluctantly admitted their importance if he wanted to keep going on his crusade against Aizen. From time to time when the immense stress and loneliness became too much, he went to nearby towns to fetch a woman or sometimes more than one to keep him company and from going insane. Morals be damned, it worked and for the greater goods.

However that night was different, in that destroyed city he was not hunting for ordinary women or human ones for that matter. His target was the one woman who was in charge of the world of the living since the new god's reign. A powerful woman who he had fought in the past moments before his fall to the brink of death, she was the one and only deadly beauty Tres Espada Tier Harribel. From the information he had gathered, she had gotten a new title as the 'Arc Angel' of Aizen's accursed religion. Humans highly praised her name and treated her as a holy entity from the bible even though almost none of them had ever seen her. Rather surprising news really, because from the short time he met her in the past, he doubted she even cared with that sort of things.

Arriving at a long abandoned park, Hitsugaya stopped his track to survey the surroundings. Ruins and more ruins everywhere, the city that once full of life was just another casualty and result of the false god's twisted sense of amusement. No one wanted to witnessed the shadows of full misery in that place, even a battle hardened Shinigami like him. He was only there because he had found the completely deserted place could also represent as a unique sanctuary for wounded souls, an ideal place for the Espada of sacrifice to often spend her free time. At his current position in the middle of the park, he could feel her skillfully suppressed Reiatsu from on top of an outrageously still standing skyscraper, one of the few left in the city. Keeping his own Reiatsu tightly suppressed, he quickly headed in her direction with Shunpo and prepared for what he doubted would be a smooth encounter.

"I've never asked anything to this world. As long as I can get my peace it will be enough for me, but now an insolent teenager dares to disturb it. Tell me your reasoning brat, before I want my peace back at all cost." The mesmerizing aqua eyes of the Tres Espada pinned the intruder with her challenging cold gaze that could wipe out any normal persons' ego easily.

"Sorry for the disruption. Trust me I don't usually ask a lady to come home with me like this but -what the - ugh I don't' need to be this polite with her, right?" The male's apparent nervousness caught her special attention, resulting in one golden blonde eyebrow being raised at him.

"Okay, I don't know if you still remember me, but I've met you once before. _(Sigh)_ Just listen, come with me, don't question me, don't resist me and don't fight me. Your struggle would be futile." He was getting slightly annoyed, seeing that he was normally not this awkward with women.

"Do I know you really? From your Reiatsu and what you said, I assumed you're not just an ordinary Shinigami but also… an amateur rapist." This time, a familiar annoyed vein began to form on his brow and he was sure there was a sexy annoying smirk hidden behind her high collar and mask.

"Yes, you do know me and I am indeed a Shinigami, but let me get this straight. I would never be an amateur in anything including - ugh! You got the point, even though I'd never fall that low to be a freaking rapist. Alright, the name is Toushiro Hitsugaya and yes, I have grown up a bit." He was trying to be more mature here, but the amused glimmer in her pretty eyes didn't help his situation at all.

"Ah, I remember that insecure little Captain. You know, I was actually aware of your good potential to grow up into a healthy and really good looking man. Congratulation boy, it seems you're in the right direction." She was just teasing him, he knew that for sure but at that time he wanted nothing more than to punch his own face for daring to blush at a time like this.

"Good, now I suppose you are also aware that I have not just grown up physically and understand that I was completely serious with what I said earlier. So, just give up lady. It's pointless to fight me." With that statement he put his right hand on the hilt of his sword, knowing the inevitable.

"Just because I recognize your name and have fought you briefly that one time when you were little, surely it doesn't mean that I want to go home with you, brat. Destroy, Tiburon!" Releasing her Resurreccion, the Espada prepared to battle the ex Captain seriously right away.

Hitsugaya was momentarily stunned seeing Harribel's exposed face again as she released her own Zanpakutou. He admitted she was gorgeous no doubt about that. He always thought so since the first time he saw her face. Maybe the mask remnants covering her lower face and large breasts served as a deeper purpose so only the ones who were worthy enough to make her release her true power could see her stunning uncovered form. It made him reminisced the first time he became worthy enough in their previous fight. When his past child eyes saw that face, he tried to deny that he had unconsciously developed a tiny silly and pathetic as hell crush on her. And now with his adult eyes he was doomed. He knew it and could only blame himself and his damn hormones for following Matsumoto's lectures and even entertaining the humiliating ideas.

The short moment of distraction caused the Shinigami to be blasted away with the great force of highly condensed large amounts of water. Although managing to recover in the air a good distance away, his body hurt from the hard impact. Regaining his focus, he looked at his drenched clothes in dismay and slight embarrassment but didn't show it on his face of course. What did he end up to, looking so pathetic despite his earlier boasting in front of his so called old secret crush? Fortunately, his top level's battle instinct took over in time so he could stop the ridiculous self pity and parry the female Arrancar's powerful slash. As a counterattack, a solid kick with his left intricate titanium boot at her midsection sent her reeling backwards in pain.

Harribel's stoic expression could barely hide her surprise at Hitsugaya's display of new power as she with great efforts tried to keep up with his relentless attack. The male Shinigami didn't use other tricks and techniques but his Zanjutsu and Hakuda to her greater disbelief. Had he improved that far along with his appearance or had she just gone soft? No she couldn't believe she had. It was true there had been no major battle at all to keep her skill sharp since her first fight with him, but she had never missed the necessary workouts and training. She knew real battle experience was irreplaceable. but looking at her always fit and toned body proved that she had definitely not gone soft. After breaking free from his Bakudo #73 Tozansho with much struggle, finally she admitted the boy had become a real deal. She then used her Sonido to create some distance between them, deciding to try a new trick.

"Wow, those were some pretty arousing moves you got there. I bet you also got a bunch of really nice muscles under that too covering outfit, such a shame they're hidden."Seeing her licked her plump lips, the boy's other 'sword' began to get ready on its own to his utter horror.

"You're doing it on purpose, aren't you? Not only making me losing my concentration, you're also trying to force me into a disadvantaged body state with your provocative words and looks." It would be so painful for him to fight with the growing bulge down there.

"Huh? How ridiculous, it's just your teenage hormones and perverted mind playing tricks on you, brat. I just meant to compliment your healthy growth. What have you been eating by the way?" Her sensual blonde eyebrows rose innocently, but the shape itself already made them look far from innocent.

"I can control my hormones just fine, and there's nothing perverted with my mind. What the heck is wrong with you really? The last time we fought you didn't behave improperly like this." Frustrated, he had never suffered this kind of disadvantage in a battle before.

"What was I supposed to do huh? Flirting with a little brat who didn't even know the word puberty? Ugh… sorry I'm not a pedophile." She had a point, but it still disappointed him seeing her like that.

"Point taken, but do you really think acting like a slut like this will make you look better? I don't find it that much desirable and you should be ashamed." He wasn't lying really, sure his body's response was embarrassing, but it was natural for a healthy male like him.

"You sure? Could've fooled me. My eyes are working fine by the way. I can clearly see your desire showing down there. Has that thing reached its full form? Hmm it already looks so big." Her shameless ogling that was full of amusement seriously hurt his stoic gentleman ego.

"Satisfied now? You want to force me to fight in this shameful condition, don't you? Have you gone that low to forget your past honor that even I still remember till this day?" He did not expect to see this seemingly different woman at all when he decided to find her.

"Calm down, kid. I'm just messing with you. It's been so boring lately. The honor is still there and will always be. I'm impressed to be honest. Seriously, in this state a defeat is all but guaranteed for me." This time, her mysterious tempting smirk could be seen clearly with nothing covering her mouth.

"That's a relief. You're a smart woman. I know that hasn't changed. You finally realize coming with me is the better option than a humiliating defeat, don't you?" An also not so innocent smirk that would never be found on him when he was still a kid began to form on his face.

"Go with you? What are you planning for an admittedly attractive older woman like me huh? Beat me up to get information? Oh, I'm not that foolish to believe you're still that innocent little Captain from years ago. Actually seeing your now hormonal teenage boy state, I wouldn't be surprised if you're planning something dirtier with this body of mine. To put it simply, you're seriously mistaken if you think I would just let you force your pathetic desire on me, brat." He thought she had quitted that nonsense, but it seemed like she was just preparing the finishing move for his honorable ego.

"You… Listen here you dumb blonde. I will never do or even think something that low! You are also mistaken if you think I'm interested in your cheap whorish look! I've gotten more than enough of that kind of shit already from my old Lieutenant to last a lifetime." Finally after many years, the once famous icy Captain of the Tenth Division of the Gotei 13 Toushiro Hitsugaya lost his cool again…

"Such an amateur liar, do you think I'm oblivious of the longing in your eyes when you look at me, you naughty boy? You should know well that beside my ample breasts there's nothing else making me similar with your Lieutenant. It also greatly displeases me hearing you calling the looks of well endowed women like us with such degrading words, you know." For the first time in this encounter, the Tres Espada Tier Harribel showed her taunting and menacing stare that was focused solely on him.

"I agree, you two are so different. Matsumoto is the embodiment of annoyance itself, but she means so much more to me than just her outside appearance, but you? You're nothing more than an image of sinful desire that I should get rid immediately to stop you from being just a worthless distraction in this world once I get all I want from you." He cringed slightly at his own cruel words, realizing how uncalled for it was and she definitely didn't deserve it.

The shock on the female Arrancar's beautiful face couldn't be missed at all, then her expression turn into the one of anger and hurt… a deep and bitter pain. She always knew and had already accepted the fact since a long time ago that her origin as a Hollow for as long as she could remember meant she would always be nothing no matter how strong she became. Her worthless existence would not change all of sudden just because she had managed to overcome her Hollow's barbaric instinct and developed some sort of emotions. Still she cared for her kind, not just her Fraccion but even other Hollows and wished she could do something to change the way of living in her home world. Till this day knowing her limit, she had been fine with her fate. That was until she heard what he said about her, even though she didn't understand exactly why his inconsiderate words could hurt her so deeply.

To be completely honest, she could never forget the amusing little Captain she had fought years ago. At first she was annoyed and slightly intrigued by his foolish bravery. How could with all of the high-ranking Shinigami to fight against, she ended up fighting a small brat wearing a Captain attire? However to her surprise, beyond her conscious mind she slowly began to develop senses of respect, admiration, and fondness for his courage and determination that seemed undeterred by the judging or demeaning words and stares around him. Years later in this unexpected second encounter with him, she couldn't help but feel somewhat excited to see his growth, hoping that it was beyond just a change of physical looks. Now she found out that he had indeed changed, but to her deep disappointment he had become such a typical barbaric male.

"Die you arrogant, brat! **Resurreccion: Segunda Etapa**!" Hearing the hateful shout, he concluded that facing a completely furious woman was the worst situation he ever imagined.


	2. need to talk

**Warning: this story is not going to be as serious or dark as what it may seem in the prologue.**

* * *

The Shinigami was taken aback, witnessing the female Arrancar's new transformation. From what he had learnt about Arrancar and their powers, Segunda Etapa release was extremely rare. As far as he knew, only the deceased Quattro Espada was capable of the stage. Hitsugaya himself had never seen it before, but he had no doubt on the power considering how it took the Substitute completely becoming a Hollow abomination to defeat the Number Four. He shouldn't be that surprised though, not only the Tres Espada was of higher rank than the Quattro, she also had greater potentials and stronger will to fight. What disturbingly surprising actually was how the growing bulge under his trousers almost came to completion as he observed her in what his pathetic mind perceived as a very arousing transformation.

After the huge surge of boiling water and the extremely dominating crimson Reiatsu that enveloped her ceased, Harribel's second release finally completed. The exotic look of the Espada woman turned even more tempting, taunting, and menacing. Her normally beautiful aqua eyes had become a pair of glowing crimson orbs with black sclera. Her blonde hair had turned dark grey and grew a lot longer and wilder. The skimpy white bone like armor on her body hadn't change much, except for the color also turned dark-grey with an additional tattered black 'butt-cape'. And instead of wielding the white unique broadsword like in her normal Ressurrecion, both of her arms were now enclosed with two deadly shark head shaped gauntlets that had glowing crimson aura around them.

"Use your Bankai if you don't want to suffer a humiliating death too soon. That way, at least I would enjoy the slightly longer process of destroying your pretty body." Her voice had become slightly gruffer but relatively calm again, confident in her current prowess.

"I don't mean to underestimate you, in fact I admit you've become so powerful, far surpassing most of the Captain level's Bankai. It's just that after finally completing my Bankai, I've come to a conclusion that it is too dangerous. So I'd rather avoid using it." Still doing his best making his staring at her body not too obvious, he prepared himself for a possible beating up.

"Suit yourself." She shrugged coldly and then disappeared with an extremely fast Sonido.

Not even able to see her movement, the Shinigami was launched far backward by a powerful punch in his stomach. Blood was trailing from his mouth before he crashed into a nearby old tower. He only had a split second to peel his body away from the damaged tower top to evade an upcoming blow of the glowing shark gauntlet before the attack completely crushed the tower to the ground. The force of the blow created a large crater under the crumbled tower and sent a huge shockwave that further damaged the city. With eyes slightly widened and only had his expert battle instinct to thank for, he tried to regain his breath and gain some distance away. Surprisingly she ceased her attacks for a moment and seemed to concentrate in midair.

"Mellizo Devoradores!" Trusting her arms forward in a crossing motion, the female Arrancar summoned two giant crimson spirit sharks from her gauntlets to finish her opponent.

Using the fastest Shunpo he could manage, he tried to avoid the ferocious beasts, but they continued to pursue with alarming speed. Those summoned spirits made from powerful energy and hot water were also immune from his Kidou spells and seemed stuck to their prey until they could devour him. However to the woman's surprise, the boy suddenly stopped and closed his eyes looking very much like someone who decided to embrace their death. The twin spirit sharks opened their jaws before crashing hard at their defenseless target, resulting in a massive crimson explosion of Reishi that lighted up the night sky brighter than the daylight. The ruined city below shook under the great force, making the fragile buildings crumbled even further.

Sighing slightly, the Arrancar closed her eyes to feel the Shinigami's traces of Reiatsu if there was even still any left. To her relief and slight disappointment, she could feel nothing left of his presence. Deciding to just turn around and leave, she tried her best to ignore the growing heavy feelings in her chest. Surely the things she was feeling were not those of regret, loss or even sadness right? The arrogant and hormonal barely adult brat definitely deserved that sort of end for the crude words he said to her. Barely knowing her, he dared to look at her improperly and even went as far as treating her like a worthless whore. In the end, she gave in and turned her head back to take one last look when she felt the explosion ceased, but then instantly widen her eyes.

Toushiro Hitsugaya's bloodied form stood there facing down with his somewhat longer hair covering his face slightly and his outfit damaged at some places. A mysterious misty aura was surrounding him and when he raised his head, a large cross mark (like Hyourinmaru's humanoid form) could be seen across his face. Staring at the now rather dull turquoise eyes, Tier Harribel was certain that whatever this new form of his was, it was definitely extraordinarily strong being able to survive her finishing move. However, she was still really intrigued by his current state that didn't emit even the slightest bit of Reiatsu and she was sure he didn't bother to hide it. Believe it or not, in that moment he seemed pretty much not alive or even real at all. And with the deadly chill sensation she felt in his presence, she could only call him a true 'Reaper'.

"I'm sorry…" His soft words and regretful eyes stunned her slightly, but then she regained her focus when he moved rapidly toward her.

Rather expecting some fancy techniques, she got somewhat disappointed seeing him raised his sword to deliver a simple downward slash. However, she still trusted her sharp instinct and used both of her gauntlets to catch the attack with their 'maws'. When her body shuddered heavily from the strain she took to intercept the 'underwhelming' strike, she finally understood the true extent of her opponent's power. Still, a triumphant smirk graced her lips as her gauntlets successfully locked his Zanpakutou in place, but it was quickly replaced with a small gasp. Yes, the blade was still in her solid hold, but the wielder was no longer there to her disbelief. To made it worse, she couldn't sense him at all. That was the last thing in her thought before she felt a sharp hit behind her neck and lost consciousness.

* * *

Still in the state of shock and not knowing how long she was unconscious, Harribel tried to open her eyes. The first reflex was to check on her Zanpakutou and to her slight worry it wasn't there, didn't surprise her though. What made her uncharacteristically panic was she couldn't feel her mask remnants, but she knew exactly she wasn't in her Resurreccion form any longer. Daring to gaze down at her neck and chest, her worry was proven right as there were no more fragments of her hollow origin. Even more uncharacteristically, her cheeks heated up as she saw her jacket wide open exposing her bare large breasts. There was only one person to blame and she turned her panic and embarrassment into pure rage towards the perverted brat. What the hell he'd been doing to her?!

"No need to act like a blushing virgin, it doesn't suit you. I've seen plenty of women's breasts and really, yours don't impress me that much." That cocky and slightly bored voice, he had been here the whole time. Now also feeling insulted, the blonde again woman turned at his direction with a heated glare.

"No need to act like an experienced adult either, brat. You're the one who must be a virgin. I bet it hasn't been long since you hit puberty. Now tell me honestly, you touched them, didn't you?" She felt rather smug seeing that it was his turn to blush.

"It was out of necessity to subdue a woman like you. Trust me I barely -" The feminine snort followed by sarcastic chuckles interrupted him and made him scowl harder.

"You really are an amateur. Seriously, can't you make a better excuse? If what it really takes to take me down was by groping my breasts why didn't you do it sooner? C'mon, I knew you badly wanted to." Now that the embarrassment had gone, she faced him tauntingly with her hands at her hips, didn't seemed to care in the slightest even if he could see her nipples.

" _(_ _Sigh)_ Listen, I only touched it to modify your Espada tattoo to make it seal your Arrancar traits including your Zanpakutou's presence. Now it worked similar to high-ranking Shinigami's Gentei Rein and I'm the only one who can release it. So you'd better behave here since basically you're not that different than normal souls now. Besides, it's definitely not my fault your damn tattoo was placed on your oversized bust." He then stressed his point by glaring at said bust.

"Is that so? A bit make sense, but don't think I'm not suspicious of your motives. I still don't believe you'd willingly missed the opportunity to grope a pair of naturally large breasts." Feeling strangely self-conscious at last, she quickly zipped her jacket back up. .

"I admit it was so tempting - _(Ahem)_ Okay, now that you're conscious and hopefully behaving, tell me what you know about Aizen's Kingdom." The atmosphere became tense and he hoped the difficult woman would understand her situation and stop trying to test his temper.

"Why should I say anything to betray Lord Aizen? As the Espada of sacrifice, I am definitely ready to endure anything you have in store for me. Go ahead do what you want, insult me, torture me, or what a perverted brat like you always fantasizes… molest me? rape me?" Her taunting this time had gone a bit too far, but he understood she was just being instinctively defensive.

"If I'm not mistaken, Aizen cut you down in that battle and declared he was done with you. Your 'boyfriend' had dumped you, woman. Are you really that blind or just plain dumb to stay loyal to him?" He raised a white eyebrow in slight amusement at her sudden enraged expression that followed.

"He wasn't my - ugh! Lord Aizen had good reasons. He tried to subdue my enraged self from foolishly rushing to a certain pointless death and at the same time used the opportunity to make a show with his flawless acting to break the enemies' spirits. Not only he apologized to me personally afterwards and explained everything, he also even trusted me to be in charge of the world of the living." The poor woman's triumphant expression surprisingly only made him looked at her in sadness in return.

"I can only wonder what you've been through in your life to make you see someone like Aizen as a beacon of hope… It's now clear to see, deep inside you're just a woman who has been hurt to a breaking point over and over." The sympathy in his soft voice shook her slightly but even more so, it drove her to a rage she had never been before.

"What does a hormonal brat like you know about me huh? You know nothing kid, not the worlds, not the life, and definitely not me! So what if Lord Aizen is not the most innocent people around? He is the only one who has ever given me and my people hope and purposes, but you? What are you to me? What have you done for me? Nothing and that will never change." The fire in her teary eyes slapped his senses and forced him to understand her bottled up feelings.

"Now I realize I have no right to ask anything from you, but please trust me. I have no ill intention toward you, at least not anymore. And if somehow I could be something to you someday, I would try beyond my hardest to show you a true hope. For now, I'll leave you alone to have some times for yourself, you need it." His gentle and caring words stunned her and if she dared to admit to herself, touched her briefly. Willingly or not, she was now forced to see him in a new light.

"Wait, what is this thing on my wrist?" The not so Arrancar anymore woman suddenly became aware of the mysterious but kind of artistic silver bracelet around her left wrist.

"Oh that is the same as this one. I developed them to make it so we don't need Gigai anymore to be visible with normal eyes. More efficient and practical than Urahara's invention I'd say." He proudly showed the same 'bracelet' around his left wrist to her.

"Great, so now those foolish humans would be able to see me when I walk around places, what a pain. What is this place by the way?" Gazing around the tundra like area, she finally remembered to ask the important question.

"My training area, actually I made it based on Urahara's technology. This place is underground, you know. I have to give most of the credit to the old pervert though for this one." He closed his eyes, enjoying the cold wind and tranquility of the place.

"Wow, I never knew perverted weirdos shared interesting ideas…" The offhanded and maybe unconscious remark made the younger one of the said 'perverts' sighed in barely contained anger.

"I'll pretend to not heard that, be grateful. Enjoy your time, if you need anything I'll be training over there." Turning around to leave, he missed the small but rather fond smile on her soft lips that the woman herself also didn't seem to be aware of its presence.

Sitting on a big boulder, the blonde tried to ignore her troubled thoughts for the moment and just enjoy the atmosphere of the place. To her surprise, she didn't really mind the barren views and the cold air. The solitude and peace were pleasing to her and to put it simply she kind of like her 'prison'. Minutes later her gaze fell on the distance where the Shinigami seemed to be doing his training. That made her curious and decided to come closer and get a better view. At her new observation spot, she could see him practicing Zanjutsu in his new form that she simply called 'Reaper'. After the last fight, she didn't expect him to show some fancy moves, that didn't seem to be his style anymore. Still, she knew that the seemingly simple moves were not to be underestimated at all.

"That's the form you used to defeat me, yes?" She gave in to her curiosity as he noticed her presence and stopped his graceful Zanjutsu and Hakuda combo.

"Yes, it is. I developed it awhile ago and called it 'Reaper Shroud'. This form focuses more on direct combat ability and endurance, unlike Bankai that also focuses on Zanpakutou's special abilities. I'm more comfortable in this form, since it's nearly on the same level as my Bankai but far more tame." He was about to go in detail about it, but stopped when he realized there was no point explaining it to someone who was technically still an enemy.

"So you never use your Bankai anymore?" She found it hard to believe considering that as far as she knew Bankai was Shinigami's pinnacle of power and they all dreamed to achieve it.

"My Bankai has its own purpose. Actually I think Daiguren Hyourinmaru's special trait that allows me to strip anything I touch or freeze of their functions was rather overkill." But even then he wasn't sure it would work against Aizen who had ascended to become a 'higher being' with the help of Hougyoku.

"That sounds rather overpowered indeed... Have you ever tried using both this Reaper Shroud and Bankai at the same time though?" If what he was saying was true, for the firs time ever she dared to imagine the fall of the false god.

"Of course, but I'm almost one hundred percent sure the strain that would be put on my body would destroy me in less than ten seconds. So, I don't bother to entertain the potential at the moment or near future." He was actually pleasantly surprised at her interesting question.

"You're afraid, but that's understandable. You just got this new big, strong, and really hot body after all. Even I would regret it if it got destroyed too soon by the owner's incompetence." But somehow she knew that he would gladly sacrifice himself even just for a chance to save the world.

"Say what you want, but remember to behave because I have a feeling you'd be staying here for awhile until you decide to cooperate." With that he resumed his training session a safe distance away from her.

* * *

After what she presumed to be evening (the training area always stuck in the morning day setting) they moved to the house atop of it. He gave her a brief tour around the house including the spare bedroom for her before going to prepare a small dinner for both of them. It was a bit amusing for an Arrancar like her to experience a somewhat domestic life with an equally dangerous Shinigami, but she found it rather enjoyable to her surprise. The bath time afterwards was really satisfying for her stressed body after what she had just been through, and she took more than two hours in the nice and warm bathtub. Until suddenly a rude shout ordering her to go to bed interrupted and ended her temporary bliss, but of course she didn't obey. Instinctively she just picked up a small bathrobe before angrily marching to his room.

"You just ruined my mood even further you know that?! Now take a responsibility and let me sleep with you. I need to have sex!" Her shocking entrance by barging through his door and even more shocking request left him completely speechless with his mouth gaping slightly.

"A-are you okay?" The lame reply was the only response he could manage after a minute.

"I am not, you wimpy brat! My mind is in complete shambles and I only know one way to forcibly stop it. I need a primal distraction, so let's have sex." Her angry glare was full of stress and also equal amounts of lust.

"W-wait let me get this straight. So every time your mind is in shambles you just find any nearby male and then used them as a mean for distraction?" He cringed instantly feeling how hypocrite he was, but it still disturbed him knowing his grand image of her being tainted like that.

"Not really, I've only ever done it a couple of times with Grimmjow. And he cried like a sissy every time I broke his thin stick. So you're up for it or not? Don't tell me you've suddenly gotten impotent from fear." She noticed her statement had made him irritated and slightly… jealous?!

"That's not the point, but no I very much have not gotten impotent and never will. Listen, have you ever tried to just talk your problems with someone? It would help." He was trying to be rational and reasonable here even though his own arousal was unbearable.

"Is this not just another one of your pathetic excuses, knowing you couldn't handle me? Listen brat, I can and will devour your virgin teenage body mercilessly if you don't stop being a wimp, you know" With that she began to advance like a predator towards the bed where the said 'virgin' was still dumbstruck by her seriously wrong assumption.

" _(Sigh)_ Just sit here." The blonde knelt on the spot of the bed he patted earlier and immediately tried to remove her bathrobe.

"No no, keep the robe on! It's for your own good, trust me. Please just tell me what's on your mind, anything." He felt so relieved at last as she begrudgingly agreed to cooperate.

"... I feel lost… I guess I always had been that way. Your words from earlier have made my fragile belief on Aizen crumbled, even though it had been keeping me going no matter how wrong it was. You've also made me remember the time before I joined the Espada." She had a faraway look in her eyes, the one that clearly showed the honesty of her words.

"I doubt I have ever been a human before my Hollow days. I always have some gut feelings that told me perhaps I was just a tiny worthless fish before the eventual death and rebirth as a Hollow. My earlier time as a Hollow, I don't remember much aside from the terrible pains and sufferings, just like the others of my kind also experience. The misery, it never changed from the time I was just a tiny Reishi eating creature in Hueco Mundo desert until my eventual evolution into a Vasto Lorde and later an Arrancar with Aizen's aid." The part when she said her origin theory as a fish made him almost burst out laughing, but a sad and hollow laugh.

"To be honest I've always been aware that the hope Aizen offered is just an illusion, but I foolishly preferred a shiny lie over a soul-crushing truth. I know I'm actually just nothing in the grand scheme of things in this world, but this foolish fantasy… a dream of someday I could change the fate and helped my kind and home world wouldn't go away." She didn't know how noble she actually was and to her it didn't matter because all she saw in herself was just worthlessness.

"When you said how worthless I was during our fight, I knew you were right, but it still really hurt hearing it from you. I hate to say this and would never say it again. But believe it or not, I secretly admire you and held a certain respect for you… Hitsugaya." Unknown to her, she had successfully made him feelreally bad and regretted his earlier treatment to her.

"I am sorry, Harribel. I never meant any of that, honest. I was just being childish, wanting to get back at you for your teasing. You know, no life is worthless no matter how wrong and twisted they seem to be. No matter what happened, your life is not less meaningful than any other normal lives… even though you used to be a tasty fish at first". And he ruined the emotional moment with his lame attempt to lighten up the air.

"Is that supposed to be a joke? If yes, you really are an amateur. Thanks for the talk by the way. It works, not as fun as sex though." She was the only person he knew who could say something like that with such a deadpanned face and made her gratitude sounded like an insult.

"No surprise, nothing could beat sex haha… _(Sigh)_ Why Grimmjow though?" Too absorbed in his equally deadpanned reply, he couldn't stop himself from unconsciously voicing his shameful curiosity.

"What's the problem? Jealous?" Her smug taunt not only made him desire to strangle her in embarrassment but also to ravage her smirking plump lips in frustration at the same time.

"Nope, sorry to disappoint you. I was simply curious." The rather flawless lie couldn't fool her sharp perception from seeing his cute jealousy, but she decided to just play along.

"Let's see, out of everyone I knew, only Aizen and his two mates plus the Espada had any chance to handle me. Aizen was obsessed with himself. Tousen only had his blind eyes for Aizen. Ichimaru was too creepy. Yammy was uglier than gorillas. Aaroniero… was that thing even a male? Szayel must've used his genital for a test subject. Zommari… might as well sleep with a rock. Nnoitra - ugh plain disgusting. Ulquiorra... I doubt the poor guy knew sex as anything other than gender. Baraggan was just a living fossil. Starrk was too lazy to have erection. That only left Grimmjow. Sure he was so loud, but he was gullible and had a pretty hot body, not bad for a glorified sex toy." That was… a rather interesting insight of her former comrades' values.

"So... you just see me as a new potential 'glorified sex toy'?" He could feel his ego being mercilessly decimated right in front of this woman.

"Huh, you wished to be more? Stop your wet dream, brat. Why do you refuse by the way? Is this the 'not my type' bullshit? Or you're just too afraid I will destroy your barely there manliness? You know, it's okay to be afraid because I can really dominate your wimpy teenage hormones." Seriously, could she destroy his ego even further?

" **Undress**." The sudden stern command left no room for any objections. He was enraged, and he would make this smug blonde pay badly.


	3. tell the truth

**I've never thought i would update this story again. But here it is, especially for the few of you who still support this story!**

* * *

It was still quite early in the morning when Harribel opened her eyes, not really from sleep since she was embarrassingly passed out last night. Until that second, she still couldn't believe the brat's crazy performance in bed. But her inability to count the number of intense climaxes she had experienced last night until her inevitable blackout was a solid prove of his prowess. That level of pleasures, she had never felt them before and her supposedly super durable body shamefully couldn't handle them. Still she couldn't help it, the young Shinigami was like an alpha male who determined to impregnate his female during a mating session, purely feral. The former Espada should be ashamed since the 'wimpy brat' had dominated her both in battlefield and bed, but to her shock and puzzlement she just felt content and totally satisfied. Her stupid gut feelings even told her she had found the one she belonged to.

"Am I still a wimpy brat now?" The said brat was surprisingly still up, playing with her golden blonde hair and making her blushed unconsciously when she noticed the gesture.

"No you're not a wimp, but you're still a brat and that's a fact. Okay _(Ahem)_ would you mind sharing your bedroom with me from now on? Uh it's kind of nice." Her flushed but determined face was so effective in convincing the clearly amused male.

"Sure, just keep from molesting this 'brat' when he's asleep...'mature woman'." He knew and was glad she was at the very least interested in him, so he would not pass up the chance to tease her.

"If I remember correctly the brat was the one who had molested the mature woman's 'not really impressive' breasts till they went a bit numb." She still couldn't believe how obsessed he was with her breasts last night as if he suddenly forgot his insults to them.

"Sorry about that, I mean the 'not impressive' part. Your breasts um they're the best I've ever come across to be honest." Seeing how still completely bare they were made his lust almost unbearable.

"Uh thank you I guess… What the hell?! Have we gone this pathetic talking about breasts this early in the morning?! It's your fault, you pervert, your sick influence." Honestly no one knew where the duo's badass personas had been hiding this past day.

" _(Sigh)_ I just sacrificed my dying ego to compliment her and she carelessly stomped on it…" Now he began to wonder how long till he regretted the decision of sharing his room with her.

"Pathetic brat - wait what is that?" She picked up a damaged card that had been carelessly abused during their 'battle' last night from the rumpled bed sheet.

"My 'human' ID card… or used to be." The poor thing was kind of gross really, being covered with rather questionable substances…

"Tyler Heavensward… a new name? I didn't know you're still that insecure brat." Of course she wouldn't miss the chance to strike again even in what was supposed to be an amused question.

"My public name or 'human' name to put it simply, it's necessary." Surely the blonde was smart enough to not question its necessity knowing his situation.

"T.H. huh? The same initial as your real name, same as mine too, coincidence?" Not expecting any reply, she just shrugged when he stared at her strangely for pointing out something silly like that

"Tier Heavensward … hmm it doesn't sound bad at all, but still - _sigh…_ nothing can beat Tia Hitsugaya to me." The barely audible mumbles caught the only Hitsugaya in complete lost.

" _(Snort)_ Twenty four years old huh? Seriously? You look barely passed seventeen, brat." She could only guess the places he frequently visited that made him pretend to be 'older'.

"Have you forgotten how this brat made you faint last night? Also be grateful my room is soundproofed. You're far louder than human females." Without it her screams could've been heard from outside the house, not that it really mattered though since his house was located in a remote place.

"Wait, so I assume you often bring women here? You're too perverted for your 'age'! You definitely have been with women before. Don't you dare to lie, how many have you ever slept with?" It greatly puzzled and irritated her how she felt furious all of a sudden imagining the brat's conquests.

"Obviously and it's not relevant how many. What is it to you anyway? It's not your business even if I fuck every woman in the world err but I have standards of course." This time he stiffened slightly when he saw the hurt in her angry eyes even though he wasn't sure what caused it.

"You barely became an adult and already a manwhore?! Ugh why did I let you touch me last night? God knows - uh the real one of course - maybe you've even given me some disgusting diseases!" Ouch, she didn't realize how fatal her blow at his poor ego this time around, did she?

"I am immune to almost all diseases, especially petty human's ones. Besides, have you gone senile to forget how you lusted over me? I bet you still do, very much." Pure statements, that's what they were, no boasting or taunting or even witty comeback.

"Grow up and try to be committed. If you are with me, don't you ever dare to even look at other women improperly or I will destroy you." It would be best to take her calm ultimatum seriously because she could definitely find a way to destroy him somehow.

"You feel that way too huh?" A small gentle smile accompanied his rather hopeful question.

"What feelings? It is purely physical desire, natural possessiveness, and honor." It was her turn to cringe slightly hearing her own cold lie.

"Of course, I get it." Hearing the sad resignation in his tone almost made her reach over him to hug him tightly, but of course her ego would never let her.

"Good boy. Ugh what is it this time? Being all mushy like weaklings... You know it's your fault right? After your perverted one, is this your wimpy influences turn to strike now?" Her halfhearted bullying was just her attempt to better the mood, knowing that he scowled playfully in return.

"Now I'm hungry, go make some meals. You can question me later afterwards." She sounded tired, so he just nodded and didn't question her further.

* * *

She felt bad, honestly bad. Her dominant nature, she despised it very much at that moment. He had already suffered a lot more than enough belittlement during his relatively short life (for a soul) so far. To put it simply, she had been acting like a top tier bitch towards him and he didn't deserve that. She just knew he was actually a very nice boy. It's just his icy nature and people's treatments toward him that made him seemed like a bastard. Now she also had come to understand a bit why he had been sleeping around. He must have been so lonely while at the same time bearing an impossible burden as the last and only hope against Aizen. Unknown to her, little by little her admiration for him grew surely, breaking the boundaries toward the point where it could one day become the one precious feeling that had been nothing but a ridiculous joke for her kind.

Forcing her naked, bruised, and completely sore body to get up, the blonde hurriedly head to the bathroom. Her new 'normal soul' state made her more sensitive of her body natural necessities and hygiene. So, the sticky substances - thanks to the brat - that trailed down from between her thighs made her feel so uncomfortable. Moments later she emerged from the bathroom fully freshened and cleaned from any sexual smells or traces but still pretty much sore. However to her annoyance, she realized she didn't have any spare outfits or even underwear here. Her grumbling belly didn't help her mood at all and in the end she just carelessly grabbed one of the brat's turtlenecks before going to the kitchen. Ignoring the too tight space around the chest area as she wore it, she found the size a bit too big even for her rather tall figure so it could cover her bum nicely.

"Sorry for the rather plain breakfast, not that I'm an amateur cook. I just find it mostly pointless to make fancy dishes." Still only clad in his boxers, the boy presented a plate of rather plain but delicious looking sandwiches to the woman.

"It's fine, who cares. Now go take a bath, your smell make me losing my appetite." Ungrateful bitch, that was what she called herself instantly after realizing her rudeness.

" _ _(Sigh)_ _ Alright sorry, I'll go now. By the way, later today I'm going out to get some things. You can tag along if you want, I'll buy you some proper clothing." His patience and attention forced her to ponder seriously why did she keep calling him brat?

Now that she thought about it, he had mostly been the more mature one between the two of them. After the beginning hostility when she got here, he rarely got back at her teasing, taunting, or even bullying. To her puzzlement, he always tried to be polite, helpful, and even nice to her despite her being an enemy originally. Yet she called him brat, wimp, and pervert… okay what's so perverted about him anyway? Yes he often stared at her body, but could she really blame him? He was just a healthy boy in the presence of a scantily clad buxom older woman who loved to provoke him. Even during their coupling last night, he tried to take her sweetly at first until finally her constant taunting and dominating attitude snapped his ego and forced him to put her in her place.

"Hey, um I just want to notify you I'm gonna be underground. If you need anything you can find me there. Enjoy the breakfast." He seemed to have done taking a bath and now standing tall in the doorway wearing a casual outfit instead of the usual 'battle' one.

"Wait, I'm going with you. You need me to answer some questions, no?" After grabbing the last piece of her sandwich, she jogged slightly to catch up with him.

"So, what have actually happened in Soul Society?" His Captain self didn't waste much time to be a professional when he got the opportunity, right after the two got to the training area.

"Basically Seireitei has become a massive laboratory for both organic and 'magical' weapons with Rukongai as the test field." The woman was also quick to switch into her serious Espada mode.

"Starrk is too lazy to interfere, so Szayel is in complete charge of the experiments. The residences no matter who they are, even the nobles and officials of Seireitei are nothing but lab rats. Almost all of the high-ranking Shinigami of the Gotei 13 have undergone Hollowfication save for the old man, just because his Shinigami power is too strong for a Hollow power to grow along with it. Sorry, I don't have much understanding of the experiments and the true motives behind them." She surprisingly looked genuinely apologetic when she said the last part.

"It's okay, that's good enough to gouge the potential strength and danger. Next, Hueco Mundo." He already had some theories actually concerning the motives.

"As you must've already known, old Baraggan has regained his throne. They just continue hunting potential recruits to be turned into Arrancar and join their rank to strengthen their military force. Nothing had changed much really, still the same boring place." She said that lightly, but he knew she still cared for her home world and were a bit frustrated with the stagnation.

"I see. How loyal to Aizen are they actually?" Honestly, he hoped the Hueco Mundo could be put in the sideline and wouldn't interfere.

"We basically don't believe in authority, it's in our blood and primal instinct to do whatever we want. However, my people are also very opportunistic to gain something or just simply to survive." Her stoic face couldn't completely mask her disappointment.

"Okay, finally Aizen himself. I assume he's in the Soul King's palace and has the Royal Guards also his under control. Am I correct?" Yes, his deduction was rather obvious but he just wanted to save her some trouble of explaining unnecessary things.

"Are you trying to impress me? Never mind. Yes, you're correct. What you need to know is Aizen uses his third Hougyoku fusion during idle state. I think you or I could handle that form with no problem. Unfortunately, I suspect he still has two higher fusion forms beyond that. You'll die pathetically, boy." Here it was time to continue the 'bashing Hitsugaya's ego' game.

"Thanks for the warning, anything else?" To her surprise and salute he stayed calm after hearing her mocking that came unconsciously.

"As his 'bodyguard' there is Yammy Margela, a fusion between the remnants of Yammy Llargo and Wonderweiss Margela. His power was predicted to be on par with your Captain-Commander." Aizen must've created him to counter Zanka no Tachi if Yamamoto could regain his senses somehow.

"Also one more thing, a vital one, he has a trump card. It's someone whose ability can complete his supremacy and back up his claim as a god." Strangely, her expression turned into the one of pity.

"Orihime Inoue. I should have known he wouldn't just let her go that easily. So cunning, he played with our concentration, misled us into thinking he didn't actually need her." He closed his eyes in barely controlled frustration, remembering the innocent sweet girl.

"He has found a way to harness her potential and take the power from her, but surprisingly he didn't do that. Instead, he turned her into soul and forced the poor girl to be his 'queen'." The disgust was evidence on her face but it was nothing compared to his cold rage.

"Tch I thought the abomination only has the hots for his own body." If he knew Aizen actually had interest in the opposite gender, he wouldn't have allowed Hinamori to get that close to him.

"You really believed that? He's obsessed with supremacy and to build a proper kingdom he needs a queen. Besides, the abomination is still a male and Inoue is a very attractive girl, no?" She wanted to test her suspicion for his highly emotional state concerning Inoue.

"She's a dream to any worthy guy who isn't blind to genuine feelings. Ironically, her heart is already in the incompetent hands of that pathetically dense and insensitive Substitute." To her, it proved that her suspicion nearly positive, he possessed unrequited feelings for Inoue! Right?

"I'm not so sure about that. Maybe you're just exaggerating because you lost to that Substitute not only in a normal fight but also in the fight to win her without him even trying." Her bitter and mean tone puzzled him more than what she was actually saying.

"What… I've never fought the Substitute, never bothered to. Though I doubt his brute strength could stand a chance against the highly refined true reapers' skills. And what do you mean with 'winning her'?" Seriously, he didn't understand her sudden hostility.

"Don't play dumb, brat. You're just a bitter loser who chose to sleep around to forget your shame." She was definitely hostile, but it still didn't make sense and so random.

" _(Sigh)_ If you say so. Alright I guess that was enough. Thank you Harribel, I really appreciate your help. It's time for me to head out, you decided to come along?" He tried to change the subject and hopefully her mood also.

"And be seen in public with a perverted loser like you? No, thank you. Go ahead and fetch some whores too while you're at it, but don't do them in 'my room'." With that she began to head back to her bedroom - correction, their bedroom - correction again, his bedroom - she was just a 'guest'.

"I'll pretend to not hear that. You know, you could just take off the 'bracelet' if you don't want to be seen and still go with me to get new clothes. I'll pay for them." Putting aside his ego, he kept trying to be rational and looked at this misfortune as an opportunity to train his temper.

"Pay? How funny, how did you even get the money, brat? Oh, I forgot you're a manwhore." Did she even realize how terribly cruel and unfair she was? Maybe her Hollow nature resurfaced or…

"Are you on your period or something? Wait, knowing your origin, do you even have the 'tools' for menstruation, tasty fish? Or perhaps your overkill assets are just there for show?" He didn't know how it ended up like this. He couldn't take it any longer and just let his sadistic side taking over.

"I hate you…" Her hateful voice that was also full of hurt kept ringing in his head even moments after she disappeared with Sonido and locked herself inside their bedroom.

* * *

His whole life, Hitsugaya tried to be mature far beyond his 'physical age' and that would not change anytime soon. Let her had some moments alone to solve her emotional turmoil, he believed she needed it. So he kept on his original plan for the day despite his growing headache. Driving off the garage gracefully in his grey Aston Martin DB11, he headed to the city to do his errands. The main destination was the city's main pharmacy to get the necessary elements for his research in developing the antidote for Aizen's perfect hypnosis. He was close to finishing a prototype serum and would later need a test subject, that was the tricky part but he would manage. His goal was not only to cure the mind control but also to develop immunity to any possible hypnotism.

"Damn it! Is this -" On his way home after finishing his errands, he suddenly sensed a familiar eerie Reiatsu nearby, beckoning him to come closer.

Never be one to run away, he decided to confront the annoying figure who seemed to be near a children playground. So disturbing, what the hell was the creep doing there? After quickly parking his supercar with less grace than usual, he instinctively grabbed his Zanpakutou and then flash-stepped behind the psycho. Why from behind? Because no one wanted to see the traitor's infamous creepy grin that seemed to be permanently plastered on his pale face. The white clad tall but rather thin figure obviously already sensed the other's presence but he just loved to play dumb to annoy people. The young ex Captain betted the other ex Captain would act surprised like a senile granny and then chided him like he was a little kid.

" _(Gasp)_ Is that you Hitsugaya-kun? You've gotten so tall, but still a naughty boy I see, giving your poor old comrade a heart attack _tsk tsk_." Rather easy to predict yes, but unfortunately no one could really tell what Gin Ichimaru actually had in his mind.

"Long time no see Ichimaru. So, would you tell me what you've been up to or should I just kill you now to save me further headache?" The boy couldn't believe his misfortunes, having been stuck with an unstable but extremely attractive woman and now meeting the king of creeps himself.

"Nothin' much. If I'm not busy visiting Ran-chan, I go babysitting the 'modern god' and trying to do some damage controls." Okay that last one was interesting in Hitsugaya's opinion.

"I already know too much of this Ran-chan and also have a good guess of this _(Sigh)_ 'modern god', so tell me about the damage controls." It was a chance to prove his suspicion of the older man's true allegiance and motive in this whole ordeal with Aizen.

"All these times we had no chance against Aizen, that's a fact. I've given up everything to be able to gain his trust so I can influence him to the point he wouldn't become the apocalypse itself. In my life, I've been doing anything in my power to salvage the disasters." The completely serious Ichimaru was an extremely rare phenomena and it made him a bit uneasy.

"I'll give you some examples. I'm the one who initiated this absurd religion, taking advantage of Aizen's superiority complex. The purpose is to give the humans a rather cruel but still a chance to survive as Aizen blind worshippers. Better than his original intention to just turn them into Hollows or Hollows' meals, I'd say." That was hard to swallow but rational enough.

"I showed him the residences of Soul Society and Hueco Mundo's potentials, so he'd decided to 'improve' them first instead of sending them right away to pitiful deaths in the campaign to conquer Hell." So Hitsugaya's theory of the motive behind the experiments was correct.

"I teased him with the sweet Inoue-chan's beauty and worthiness as a necessary queen for his new kingdom instead of just harnessing her abilities for himself, destroying her completely in the process." This one put him in a big dilemma between rationality and moral.

"By sending her to a fate worse than death?" The cold fury in the young Shinigami's Reiatsu fluctuation made the older one opened his left eye.

"Death, someone's death is not exclusively theirs alone. The moment they die, the ones who love them would also be dead inside." Hearing the cold calmness of the supposed 'traitor' excuse, the boy felt how naïve he actually still was in many things.

"That kind of… makes sense. _(Ahem)_ You're here for a more specific purpose, aren't you?" Changing the topic, a grim Ichimaru was more soul-crushing than the creepy one.

" _(Sigh)_ Our modern god has been worried lately since his lovely girl has been missing for one whole day. That's sooo long ya see? So, he sent his favorite babysitter to find his cute little girl." The sane one of the two was left speechless, it just sounded so disturbing.

"How do you know she's with me?" Hitsugaya scowled deeper. Great, it was a totally amateurish move to ask a question like that for a pro like him.

"Oh? The poor little girl is with you? Ya know, I just wanted to ask you if you've seen her around… Wait, you naughty boy Hitsugaya-kun, what have you been doin' to the helpless girl?" Just no, it got even more wrong by the seconds and the creep's wiggling eyebrows made it even worse.

"Correction, it's more like what she's been doing to me. The 'poor little girl' has been shamelessly tempting me all day with her body -" Stop just stop. That sounded so wrong… and now the creepy disease had infected the misfortunate boy too.

"I… gotta admit, that sounded a bit disturbing even in my standard… well done! So, you just let her seduce you? Son, are you even old enough for - ya know…" The following outrageous hands gesture finally snapped Hitsugaya's mental state.

"Why not? Who knew that at least in bed an Arrancar is not that useless." Suddenly he felt very bad for thinking so low of her and talking about her like she was not even a 'human' being.

"Ouch, that's so mean of you to say that. You're aware she is much more than just her looks, right? If you trust my opinion _(Chuckle)_ I know that's kinda absurd - the point is I think you two are good for each other. So please be more respectful to her." It must have been a nightmare because the king of creeps smiled warmly and his unusually opened eyes shone with equal warmness.

"I'm aware of that. It's just, she's so unstable, constantly bullying me, and the tensions - ah!" Equally out of character, the boy behaved like he was having a father and son talk with the older man.

"Calm down. You can tell me, boy. How's the bedroom activity, is it healthy enough? How often are you two doin' it?" Ichimaru had never been so proud of his talking skill like at that moment.

"We only started last night. I took her for eight rounds before she - wait. What the hell?! How could you do that?" Too late, his ego had been gutted stealthily by the creep.

" _(Chuckle)_ I guess I'm just that experienced huh? Okay, if it'll make you feel better I'll tell you my and Ran-chan's sex life -" Really, how could the older man still keep going on with that shit?

"NO! That's gross!" The boy's face had turned red in utter embarrassment and frustration.

" _(Gasp)_ How come Hitsugaya-kun? Ya see, I'm eighty three percent sure me and Ran-chan are not your parents if that's what you're embarrassed about…" Now, that one disturbing statement turned Hitsugaya's face instantly pale, dead pale.

"Listen, we'd better forget you saying that last one, understood? _Sigh…_ How is she by the way? It's been so long… I admit I kind of miss that bundle of annoyance." Fortunately the air had changed as the two shared their melancholy moments.

"No one could deny that she looks so genuinely happy. She also has been so sweet with me just like the good ol' days. These past few years have been like a far distance dream comes true, but sadly I know the truth no matter how badly I want to embrace the lie." Ichimaru's pains of failure and regret were so obvious and almost unbelievably genuine.

"We will make things right again, I promise. Okay now I gotta go, but before we depart, tell me what are you planning to tell Aizen?" Hitsugaya turned to leave but patiently waited for a moment.

"Mm who knows? Maybe the cute little girl had run away to elope with a prince charming who has been totally smitten by her godly curves at first sight?" Here we go the creep strike again…

"Aw the prince would look less charming if he scowls like that…" True, the scowl on the 'prince's face could be described as raging evil.

"Go to hell Ichimaru." The boy finally decided to end the disturbing meeting.

"Nu uh, I'm goin' back to 'heaven' babysitting the modern god, see ya! Oops, keep in touch with me would ya? My email address: _legendarykingofthecrypts_." At long last, the terrible disturbance at the children playground disappeared.

He contemplated his conversation with the creep as he got back to his parked V12 turbo supercar. To be exact, the one about whatever it was between the blonde woman and him. She once said she admired and respected him, but her unstable and often hostile attitude showed the opposite. Last night he tried to make love to her, but her harsh taunts and hostility made his ego snapped and the next thing he knew he mercilessly fucked her like a feral beast in heat, totally dominated her till she stopped moving. It was good yes, the highest level of pleasures he had ever felt in fact, but it was hollow. Sadly now he realized, his tired spirit wanted something different from her, the one precious part of her that wasn't supposed to be possessed by her kind.

After he proved his 'worth' all night long, he stayed awake savoring her bare goddess-like figure and hoping that she would see him in a better light when she woke up. How silly, he had no right to hope anything from her and maybe that was why she became even more hostile. She had clearly stated that the farthest they could go would still only be based purely on physical attractions but still bound by certain etiquette. All he could do now was just trying to please her and he would accept whatever he could get in return. No, he was not whipped by the buxom blonde, he merely avoided pointless self denials because no one could choose who they fall for. He wouldn't fight over her but he would definitely fight for her. However, there was a boutique he needed to visit first.

" _Knock- knock_." The sudden knocking on 'her' bedroom's door startled the blonde who then hurriedly wiped the traces of tears from her face.

"I told you not to bring your whores to my room!" She was lucky they both had enhanced hearings so her angry shout wouldn't be wasted by the soundproof materials.

"I'm sorry. I must've been so insensitive, not even able to realize what I've done wrong to make you this sad." He rested his back against the door and looked down tiredly.

"If you're not aware already, you're currently involved with a woman, me. So, in my presence don't you ever dare to even get angry for another woman's sake, understood?" The key of the problem was somewhere in her threat and he would rethink about it later.

"Understood." He didn't want to ruin the momentum of her willingness to talk reasonably.

"Woman… how silly of me for thinking I could even be good enough to be called a woman. A 'real' woman would have a womb where my hollow hole is located. I am just... nothing" That showed how broken she actually was and at that moment he officially hated himself more than he hated Aizen.

"I - I didn't know - I am so sorry... I would definitely kill myself for those horrific words I said to you earlier, if only I didn't still have this one last duty I had to complete. But after it's all over, could spare your time to greet me **with the edge of your sword**?" A pure and unshaken resolve lodge in his heart and he could finally see the ideal end of his story.

* * *

 **The 'Heavensward' name is owned by Square Enix (Final Fantasy XIV Heavensward)**


	4. be responsible

**We're still in chapter four, I know. But I have** ** **remade**** ** ** **this chapter**** almost completely and made minor adjustments for the earlier chapters.**

* * *

She had been locking herself up inside 'her bedroom' for six days already. And she knew he had been sleeping there right outside the door every night, but she just let him be. His last statement before he went silent disturbed her and made her somewhat afraid. It seemed like he had been through so much and was too tired and lost to keep going. She could also feel how regretful he really was. His wish for a death by her hands erased all the doubts in her mind about his sincerity that he really didn't want any harm on her. Why couldn't she just forgive him already or at least 'use' his body again to let out her frustration like the night before?! Oh how she wanted to do just that, but her ego wouldn't let her. He had hurt her deeply. She wasn't a hypocrite and didn't forget her numerous insults to him. But his last sadistic taunt had struck the very essence of her being, her worth and credibility as a woman.

During her long life, so long till she couldn't even remember when it began, she had been many things. If her intuition was correct, she had once been a small insignificant fish, a weak lesser Hollow, a mindless Gillian Menos, a wild Adjuchas Menos, a lost Vasto Lorde Menos, and in the end a misled Espada-class Arrancar. Interestingly, what she cherished and was proud of the most was her fate as a woman. She had always been insecure to be honest. Yes, she definitely had such of gorgeous traits on her image, coupled with an amazingly voluptuous figure. However the eerie white Hollow mask remnants and the dreadful Hollow hole that pierced through the very organ that defined her very being as a woman ruined it all. Now that she thought about it, intentionally or not Toushiro Hitsugaya had given her the most precious gift ever. The cold but so lovable boy had given her a chance to be a 'complete' woman.

Right at that moment she hurriedly lifted up the borrowed black turtleneck and observed her lower stomach wonderingly. There was no more ugly hole, only smooth flawless bronze skin. And she anxiously wondered… was the 'thing' also there now? With a slightly trembling hand, she gently touched the area where the organ supposed to reside in. Suddenly the most shocking sensation she had ever experienced happened. She could barely feel it, but she was definitely sure she felt something foreign inside. There was no part of herself that she was not familiar with, but this one... It was a very dim new source of Reiryoku that felt similar with the Reiatsu of a certain Shinigami who still slept right outside her room. Now she wasn't ignorance in the slightest and could quickly figure out what was happening with herself. But she was actually an Arra- (smiling warmly) woman, yes that what she really was.

"At last I've found a new purpose in life. I will live for you..." With the warmest smile she had ever shown she said those words, with the most loving gaze she had ever given she watched her still flat stomach, and with the gentlest touch she had ever used she caressed the smooth skin.

"I promise you, you will be the happiest child in the world. Even if to do so I wouldn't have a choice but to cooperate with your _(Sigh)_ father." A moment later she headed toward the door with her hand still lingering unconsciously over the one part of her body that had become so precious to her.

Opening the door, she could only raised one blonde eyebrow, seeing the future father sprawled just outside the door snoring lightly. He must've been so tired after finding her, fighting her, bringing her home, modifying her body, arguing with her, training, preparing dinner, having a talk with her, fucking her all night long, arguing again, preparing breakfast, having a serious talk, arguing again, doing some errands in the city, having a disturbing talk with an ex subordinate (she didn't know that), making an awkward visit to a famous boutique (she also didn't know yet) and finally trying to make up with her unsuccessfully. All of those physically and emotionally draining activities had been done non-stop with no healthy break at all. She had to admit his stamina was very astounding and she had experienced it firsthand in their bedroom the night before.

"Maybe I can make him a warm cup of coffee, just to prove to him I'm not only useful in the battlefield and bedroom. It's still far for him to earn my complete trust though." Carelessly she walked over his prone form on the cold floor, determined to try to make peace with him later.

On her way to the kitchen, she passed over the living room and stopped suddenly when she spotted a good number of expensive-looking bags on the main table. Frowning, she hesitantly approached the objects with slight suspicion. But then she got lightly irritated with her uncharacteristic behavior and decided to just grab one random bag roughly and take the contents out. They were - what the - things… um… bras? Come on, she didn't really know about these short of things alright?! She had never worn one. Deciding to just pushed aside the thought of how, why, and where did he get those things, she began to inspect the contents of the other bags. To her wonder they were all what looked to be women's attires. She could recognize some of them as jackets (definitely), shirts, pants, shoes, panties (she didn't wear any at that moment but she usually did, thank you very much) and… whatever.

"Hmm - wait a sec, what if he bought these things for his whores?! I will so -" Realization of whom those things were supposed to belong hit her all of sudden.

Her beautiful aqua eyes softened instantly, remembering what he said when he offered her to come along to the city. In the end her bitter jealousy to Orihime Inoue (yes she admitted it in her mind) made her refuse the offer with nasty insults. She couldn't imagine how tired and conflicted he was at that time but he still went along with his agenda. How awkward he must've been, going alone to a women's clothing store? Unknowingly to her, tears began to fall down from her eyes. No one had ever bought her anything her whole life, not one single thing. The feelings she experienced were so new, warm, and touching. He had been so kind to her, doing all the things she had never even dared to dream about for her, but what had she ever done in return? Questioning, teasing, taunting, snapping, mocking, insulting, bullying, hurting… nothing. She was such a bitch, no question there.

"I'm not sure which ones I should wear though..." Minutes later, she stripped down and then awkwardly tried to wear her choices of panties, a surprisingly large enough bra, and a comfy form-fitting green hoodie.

* * *

Tier Harribel didn't like boasting, but she was always proud of how talented and quick to learn she was. With only one single try, she successfully made two cups of perfectly blend hot coffee. It would be a start in returning Hitsugaya's kindness and she determined to not let her ego ruined her resolve. Not only that, she also planned to try her hardest in lessening her hostility towards him. Bit by bit she would show him how she really felt for him, not only for the sake of the two of them but also their future child. Her pride should be damned or shoved far away because she understood it would bring no good for their future. Her objective had become that by the time the little one born she would be a responsible and ideal mother no matter how absurd it sounded. At long last the light would shine on her and she would not miss it or let it ever leave her life.

"Wake up br- _(Ahem_ ) boy! I made you this. Be grateful!" She scowled, seeing his Captain level instinct took over by grabbing her ankle harshly when she nudged his head with her left foot.

"I will throw this cup at your head if you don't let go of my ankle this instant, you per- _(Sigh)_ Just let go please, you're hurting me." This new plan of hers already brought a headache this early.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to - huh? Thank you." Noticing that she didn't care to listen, he just carefully accepted the cup of coffee that was shoved to his face.

"I found the bags of clothes in the living room and just put on these things. I assume they're for me, if not I'll cut off your – ugh! - if not, I apologize." Her cheeks reddened in frustration.

"They look really good on you, honest. By the way, why don't you wear anything down there? You don't like any of err… whatever they were I bought?" Her fully exposed long shapely legs mesmerized his still bleary eyes and she just rolled her own brilliant eyes noticing this.

"I know how much you love staring my legs, so I left them exposed for your satisfaction only. Stop right there. If you buy that, I'll punch your - never mind. They're nice, don't worry. I just didn't bother to wear any, that's all." She was obviously still not ready to be nice to him and maybe should've tried again later.

"They all look expensive though. How did you get all the money by the way? Uh... I'm sorry about my nasty comment the first time I asked." Now her odd behavior started to make him a bit suspicious.

"You've seen some of my inventions, right? Let's just say certain rich companies were willing to give me more than enough funds in exchange for several of them, the ones they could comprehend of course. " Dealing with public humans business was one of the reasons he'd even bothered to create a fake id.

"You've been acting as a young single billionaire huh? So that's how you bait women to your bed..." She still couldn't accept that a boy as cold as his element like him had the skill to charm women.

"No. Seriously, why do you always have absurdly negative thinking about me? I know technically I'm your kidnapper and all, but still..." It made him wonder with such a distrustful nature, how could she ended up worshiping Aizen?

"I'm... sorry. I admit you've been treating me relatively well. I also need to apologize about my hostility yesterday. It was just annoying to see a strong man like you fussed over a woman whose heart already belong to another man." One of the things she detested the most during her years in charge of the human world was seeing people getting all riled up to fight over their love interest.

"Let me get this straight. You think I care about Inoue-san romantically? That's absurd. Listen, during my team's stay in the world of the living to prepare for Aizen's move years ago, she kindly let my lieutenant and I to stay in her residence. She welcomed us so warmly and even treated us like family, so the least we could do was showing our gratitude by doing the same to her. From then on I see her as a dear sister." And it was true, seeing how the rage he felt inside when he heard about what Aizen had putted her into could rival the one he felt when the same man hurt Hinamori.

"A sister huh? Even though you're not of blood relatives... I think I can understand. The way you see her is not that different than the way I see my Fraccion. I guess I could call them my sisters." Unconsciously she began to miss them and regretted brushing off their genuine concern over her.

"Your Fraccion... They're the ones who fought against Matsumoto and Hinamori, right?" He couldn't really remember their looks, but strangely their constant bickering with each other wasn't easy to forget.

"Yes they - Wait, you heard that?! I think your garage just exploded. Go check it out! I doubt I can defend myself all that well in my current state, thanks to you." She never fancied fighting especially the unnecessary ones and now with her pregnancy she had a good reason to avoid it altogether.

"Please no... not my garage... not MY CAR!" The awesome supercar had become the closest thing to a loyal dog to him, so it was understandable for him to rush out with vengeance to see his precious companion.

* * *

The woman was right. His garage had really been destroyed by what he quickly suspected as a Reiatsu-based attack, a Cero to be exact. All his attention then focused on the unrecognizable mess that used to be his car. At that point he tried to at least be proud of its chassis that he noticed had proven to be as highly durable as the company claimed it to be. He could easily buy another even without he insurance company's help, but it wouldn't be the same car. Deciding to continue his grieving later, he turned his cold gaze toward the figures standing in the air a good distance away. There were three of them, three female Arrancar. In the back of his mind he somewhat recognized them, but at that moment the notion was irrelevant to him. They were the ones responsible, but they didn't even show the slightest sign of remorse.

"You will pay for this." His mastery in Hoho was clearly shown as he in a split second sent all three intruders crashing down hard to the ground with powerful kicks before they could even open their mouth to reply.

Unsurprisingly it took much more than simple physical attacks to incapacitate elite Arrancar like them. As soon as they recovered, the three of them activated their Resurreccion at once. Gauging by their Reiatsu burst, he concluded that they were at least at lesser class Espada's level. Though the thing that gave him a surprise was their formidable coordination as they began to attack him together. Maybe it was partly because of his still clouded mind that couldn't work clearly, but the three Arrancar definitely deserved a credit for being able to put him in defensive. They seemed to understand each other very well, seeing how without words they managed to coordinate advance deceptions and score several critical hits on him. Thankfully he could get a hold of his pointless rage and see right through their latest plan that culminated with the three of them together firing their Cero at his house.

"Bakudo #39. Enkosen." The yellow spinning disk of condensed Reiatsu that he generated with his Zanpakutou did the job, blocking the combined attack even just barely before it shattered.

"Tch stupid Shinigami. It's time for Quimera Parca." The tomboy looking one of the invaders had to set aside her ego and admit that if they still wanted to stand a chance, they needed to use their ultimate collaborative technique before their opponent could release his true power.

"Bakudo #63. Sajo Sabaku." Thick ropes of yellow energy bound the upper bodies of the three Arrancar just before they finished performing their technique.

" _(Groan)_ You shouldn't have proclaimed our next move out loud, Apachi. Now look what happened to us!" The tallest one of them tried her best to break free from the spell, but her remarkable physical strength failed her.

"Hey! Shut up, Mila Rose! I did it just because unlike me and Sung-Sun, I doubted you would've been smart enough to understand a silent code ." Somehow the tomboy had already ignored their opponent, instead choosing to glare at her friend.

" _(Sigh)_ It seems like none of you are smart enough to notice that our opponent is now ready to finish us off." The one with long black hair was disappointed, seeing how her comrades even forgot to feel regretful that they had failed their mistress.

"Guncho Tsura- argh!" Just as the Shinigami about to launch his sharp icicle 'missiles', he felt a strong explosion hit his back.

"Release them or I will blow up your house next." The not so Arrancar anymore woman was actually surprised that not only she could still fire a Bala, she was also still strong enough to charge up her signature yellow Cero.

"Harribel-sama!" Hearing their dearly missed mistress' voice, the three Arrancar instantly forgot their bickering to see her.

"What are you doing, you crazy woman?! They're the ones who destroyed my garage!" He could already see how miserable his life would be now that his guess had found out how dangerous she was still.

"Take a good look at them, you stupid brat! They are my Fraccion! My sisters!" The ex Espada was rather pleased then when she noticed a slight glimmer of fear in his eyes as he reluctantly released his binding spell.

"Harribel-sama, we've been looking for you!"

"We're so worried, you know."

"Look! Your kidnapper is afraid of you! Why didn't you just leave that pathetic kid already?!"

"Don't be mistaken. He is actually stronger than I. He's just still in trauma after I showed him how a competent woman like me could put him in his place. Now come on in. I'll explain the rest inside over a cup of tea. We have some snacks too, I think." And just like that the blonde lady led her sisters inside 'her house', leaving the poor boy outside to continue grieving over his car.

* * *

In the cozy living room of a certain powerful renegade Shinigami, the Arrancar women were chatting lightly over teas and snacks. Earlier, the leader of the four had told everything that had happened to her since her sudden disappearance, save for the intimate night she shared with her kidnapper of course. She had also confessed how he had change her view and why she decided to stay with him. Her sisters were understandably worried of her highly risky decision, but she knew they would always stay loyal to her, only her. A warm smile even appeared on her face when three suddenly asked her to let them stay there with her. She easily agreed of course, claiming that she had become the unofficial mistress of that house. To lighten the mood and to make them stop worrying, she then told them how she bullied her supposed kidnapper.

"It's still hard to believe he is actually that small boy you fought years ago..." Mila Rose at first thought he indeed looked familiar and suspected he was the Tenth Captain's older brother or something.

"Who cares, Mila Rose?! We should do something to force him to return Tier back to normal." Apachi was actually really giddy after earlier their mistress kindly asked them to just call her by her first name and to treat each other as sisters.

"No! Don't! I mean, I kinda like my current appearance, you know... It's refreshing and all." She knew her reasoning was rather out of character for her, but her worry over what could happen to her unborn child made it understandable.

"I agree. Don't be ridiculous, Apachi. Tier is the most beautiful woman in all worlds. It wasn't fair that she couldn't freely show her beautiful face." The brunette could clearly see how happy the ex Espada had become, far happier than she could ever remember.

"Um Tier, could you please show me where the bathroom is?" Sung-Sun hoped their leader understood her silent request to have a private talk with her.

"This way. You two stay here." It didn't surprise her that her most perceptive comrade had noticed something strange with her.

"What happened with you, Tier? You know you can trust me." They had never kept secrets from each other since they met a very long time ago.

"I'm sure I just explained it to the three of you a few minutes ago." She knew it was futile to lie, but she wasn't ready to confess about something so private.

"You know very well how exceptionally sharp my spiritual awareness is." She pointed her gaze at the blonde's lower abdomen concernedly.

"We slept together the first night I'm here. I was so stressed out and just wanted him to at least help me forget. At that time it didn't even cross my mind that I'm capable to conceive." She doubted she would figure it out until much later if she didn't inspect her body carefully that morning.

"You look happier though... Can I safely assume that's what make you happy?" Honestly it made her so happy too seeing her mistress finally found happiness.

"Certainly. It wasn't expected at all, but I never felt this good all my life. Now I have a new reason to live." Maybe this warmness she felt in her heart stemmed from her newfound motherly instinct, but she still believed it was actually much more than that.

"Have you told him?" Having known each other for so long, she doubted Tier even found it matter whether he knew or not.

"No. I don't see why I should bother. He will find out on his own once I start showing." Though she was kinda curious to see his reaction.

"He seemed like a responsible person to me. I think he would care for you more if he found out. It would also put our mind more at ease knowing you're being well protected, you know." It was rather laughable implying her leader needed protection, but after all that had happened...

"It hurts my pride to admit you're right. But I know I should stop thinking about myself only." She knew she could not hid forever from the false god's blight.

"Apachi, Mila Rose, and I will give anything for you, Tier. And starting from now we will also do the same for your future child." The Tres Bestias couldn't even imagine what would've happened to them if they lost that one woman who had given life to their existence.

"I know. You know what also make me happy? You three being here with me." She didn't know what might happen in the future, but as long as they stayed together, she could live each days in contentment.

* * *

Never in his life he ever thought there could be a worse situation than being stuck with his old Lieutenant in a mission in the human world. He was still trying to forget his trauma from being forced to accompany her in her shopping sprees. But then he was proven wrong once his mind fully process the news from the two Arrancar in his living room. But there was definitely something wrong with the notion that a woman who hem had technically kidnapped was not only acting like she own his house, but also decided to invited her sisters to stay there with her. To made it worse, the said sisters had also begun to threat him like he was nothing more than their big sister's servant. In that hopeless situation, he even let his mind wondered whether his life would've ended up better than that if Aizen brainwashed him too.

"Hey, kid! You suck, you know that? For Aizen's sake, you don't even have a PlayStation! Go buy one already!" In boredom, the tomboy was lazily sprawling on the couch, disinterestedly switching through the TV channels.

"You should also change your wallpaper. It's too dark for Tier's taste." While the the taller one meticulously inspected the interior of the house in disapproval.

"Like I care. This is my house. You are all nothing but unwanted guests here. And your mistress, I should've made her my personal maid or something to remind her of her place." His stress lessened a bit then when his mind unconsciously conjured a provocative image of the blonde in a maid outfit.

"Go ahead, I dare you." The said blonde found a satisfaction in seeing him visibly flinched as she got back to the living room.

"Uh you know what? I don't need a maid. I can take care of myself just fine. Still, you should've ask me first before letting them stay in my house." No kidding, he had no clue why out of nowhere he had become so irrationally intimidated with her.

"Why should I? I'm the who's in charge of this particular world. So I have a complete right to claim anything in it as my own." On the inside she actually felt sorry for treating him so poorly like that, only a bit though.

"Unbelievable... How did the three of you know the bitch is here anyway?" Immediately he regretted his poor choice of words when four pairs of dangerous women's eyes sent him deadly glares at once.

"Watch your tongue, Shinigami. You'd better give our mistress utmost respect from now on. To answer your crude question, Lord Ichimaru gave us this address, claiming that Tier had moved in with her boyfriend." Though after having a talk with her mistress, Sung-Sun found the claim short of true in strange ways.

" _(Groan)_ I should have known that bastard was up to something." He silently determined to avoid making any contact with the creep at all cost.

"Wait. If Ichimaru not only knows you're still alive but also your whereabouts then that means you're in deep danger, brat." But it somewhat puzzled Tier why Toushiro didn't seem to be worried that much about the notion.

"We had a contact awhile ago, an unwanted one. He told me some secrets and no matter how hard I tried to deny it, I knew he wasn't lying. From then on with heavy heart I concluded he is definitely not on Aizen's side, never has been." He had finally realized that Gin Ichimaru lived and did everything only for the one person he held dear, Rangiku Matsumoto.

"You two don't need to worry. Lord Ichimaru has made sure to tell no one but the three of us about it." Mila Rose understood trusting the creepy man was one of the most absurd things to do, but somehow she and her comrades trusted him for that one.

"As much as I hate it, the opportunity to gain Ichimaru's assistance is too good to pass off." He could already picture better and relatively easier plans.

"So with the creep's help that would make two of you against the false god and the whole worlds. Even then I still find what chance you have to success pretty laughable. Maybe you should grow up first?" Just as the words left her mouth, the blonde regretted it instantly, seeing the broken looks in his eyes.

"Well no one has ever taken me seriously... Why would it start now?" And just like that he silently left the living room and head to his study.

"Pardon me, Tier... But don't you think that was kinda savage? I mean, he's still a kid and all." Apachi knew very well their mistress had always been strict, but she had never been that mean even to enemies.

"Come on, guys. Let's check the training area Tier told us earlier." It was obvious to Sung-Sun the 'couple' was having a serious problem that was too private for the three of them be involved in.

* * *

The ex Espada woman stood silently in front of the closed door of the study. Once again she felt guilty and couldn't really comprehend how she often felt that way recently. During her past life as a Hollow or Arrancar, she didn't even fully understand what guilt is. Maybe she could blame her new form that was a bit too humane for her taste. It was also possible she was just not ready to live a life similar to those of normal human/soul. Though in the end it didn't matter all that much to her because she had already determined to dedicate her everything for one purpose only. She would make a wonderful future for her child and if it required her to stomped on her pride to do so, then so be it. The stupid door didn't look so daunting anymore and after taking a deep breath she opened it to see the Shinigami she needed to talk to sitting quietly behind a sophisticated looking wooden desk.

"I didn't know you wear glasses to read..." Somehow she found that by wearing those things he looked more mature than usual.

"I don't need to. This is actually a device that I created to help me focus my mind." And it worked, since he could still concentrate in studying the old record he had recovered from an abandoned old Quincy fortress even after she came to intrude.

"I'm here to apologize. Believe it or not, I actually want to help you. It's just that with my current 'condition' I refuse to take any risk." Unconsciously her right hand moved on its own to cover her lower stomach.

"I have no reason to see you as a threat anymore. _(Sigh)_ Close the door. I'll release your limiter." Silently he thanked the trusty device because if not for it, he would've been unnecessarily excited about the prospect of seeing the place her tattoo was located.

"No. Don't you ever do it at least for one year." She didn't know how long a pregnancy is supposed to be, but she doubted it'd be more than a year.

"Come again? Aren't you supposed to be excited? Okay, the words excited and you shouldn't be put together, but still... Why do you want to wait for a year?" His best guest was she had begun to like looking at her face freely in the mirror no matter how absurd it sounded.

"It would at most take one year for a baby to be born, wouldn't it?" She then began to get worried it would take longer since she wasn't a human.

"... It would take approximately nine months for a baby to be born... I have no clue as to how it becomes relevant in our conversation though..." Never in his life he had gotten as clueless as that, because the words baby and Tier Harribel also didn't seem to be compatible together.

"Well my womanly features are not just for show after all. Thanks for you giving me this 'Gentei thing' I guess. So nine months huh? It doesn't seem so bad. I guess I can handle it with no problem." She was sure he could figure it out quickly if he was really as smart as he seemed to be.

" _(Sigh)_ Just when I think things couldn't be more complicated..." He had always feared following Matsumoto's advice would backfire someday, but he had never expected it to backfire this hard.

"I just need you to acknowledge that you're the father. I'll be able to take care of anything else on my own. My sisters are here with me too." She tried to be strong, she really did, but it still really hurt seeing his lack of positive response.

"No. I have to do much more than that. I never knew if I would success, but now I have to. **I will make a better future.** " He had never been prepared enough for everything no matter how hard he tried, but like always, he would give his all in everything he strive for.

* * *

 **Things will get serious starting with chapter five ;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter continues from the updated version of chapter four, so it would make more sense if you've already read that one.**

* * *

Back when he decided to find the Tres Espada, he didn't expect to have contact with her longer than a few days. His original intention was only to get some information from her before letting her leave for good. He cared enough about her to not involve her in his terribly complicated and dangerous path. He also respected her enough to not touch her beyond necessary, but of course he had failed on that one. At first, naturally he felt sorry for what he had put her through, and he still felt so even months later. Surprisingly though, she didn't seem to mind at all with her predicament. In fact, it wasn't rare for her to look so serene even happy as she caressed her stomach. Yes, she had started showing and with it somehow she had also started to appreciate him more. Sometimes it was almost as if they were a real couple, seeing how sweet she had become to him lately in her own strange way.

Things had been going surprisingly well. Though it shouldn't be a surprise that such a hardened warrior lady like her had not whined nor complained even once during her pregnancy. True to her words, she had managed to take care of her every needs almost completely on her own. Of course her loyal Fraccion had always been there to help too. Maybe it came from their determination to make their mistress as comfortable as possible, but surprisingly the three of them was quite capable in doing house chores, even cooking. The house owner only needed to provide them with enough fund, and he wouldn't need to worry about the running of his house. He also appreciated that none of them had bothered him anymore, so he could focus on his work. And perhaps he should be grateful that his home had become livelier than ever with their presence.

Despite how nice his life had become, he had never forgotten his part. There was still a mission he had to complete, a hope he had to preserve. Most of the preparation to start the crusade against the false god had finished, including the prototype antidote. However, he never expected it would be this hard to move on with his plan, and for a reason he never even once anticipated. The foggy atmosphere didn't help either as he stood in front of the house in his usual battle outfit with a travel bag in hand. Thankfully, the three Arrancar was sensible enough to let him have a private moment with their mistress for what might be the last time. They had been standing in silence for long minutes, just facing each other. But it was clear in their eyes that the both of them actually tried to savor the bittersweet moment the best they could, even though they didn't know exactly what to do.

"You should check out my study later. I've left a few things there that should be of help to you. I know it's pathetic of me to not be able to do more, but... I have to go. I have promised to make a brighter future for the kid to grow." He gazed longingly at her abdomen and tentatively raised his hand to touch it.

"Why are you so adamant not to tell me about your plan?" The probability that he still didn't trust her enough after all these times saddened her.

"The upcoming war will revolve around me. Danger will be there in my every step. It's better for you to not be involved in this. I will not take any risk in regard to your safety." He would also make absolutely sure that none of the battle would happen near their home.

"Understood. You can trust me to do my part here, but... I will still miss you. Thank you for everything." There was no point in hiding what she felt anymore.

"I should be the one thanking you. Good bye, Harribel." He briefly considered kissing her, but decided not to because she might berate him for being too sappy.

"It's Tia to you. And it better not be a good bye. You hear me?!" She was desperate not to be too emotional, but her voice betrayed her.

"Of course. See you soon then... Tia." In the end, he took the risk by planting a soft kiss in her forehead before vanishing a second later.

She continued to stand there for minutes after he left. Instinctively, her hands were wrapped securely around her abdomen, as if trying to protect what was inside from the world... the blighted world that its father had been trying to save... the same world that its mother had helped to destroy. If she had not thought about her child's future, she doubt she would have even thought for a second about what happened to this world. She felt so sinful for what she had done and stupid for realizing it too late. She knew that regret alone was far from enough, but at least it was a start. For the time being, she had a personal responsibility to her child, but she still hoped there would be a chance for redemption someday. If the fate allowed, she wished it would be possible in the future for her to see him again and help him in his mission.

* * *

As a master in the art of Hoho, he could move faster than the speed of sound, but he still had to admit that the distance across continents was unreasonable to take with Shunpo. Thankfully, he had a private jet to take him anywhere he wanted in earth with similar speed. At times like this, he really appreciated being rich, or maybe being smart because he wouldn't have been rich if he wasn't smart. The highly modified airship was a side project of his, being funded with just spare money. The jet engines had been greatly enhanced to be able to take advantage of the Reishi particles in the air to improve the power output. He had also equipped the airship with a device that could produce an anti-detector barrier around it. The barrier manipulated Reishi particles just like the engine, but it took advantage of the invisible nature of them to make the airship also invisible.

The journey itself started from his home in 'Scandinavia Alliance' Europe to a secret airport in the 'Bloodied Borderland' South America. Just like what the name implied, his destination was one of the many places in the world of the living that had been suffering endless conflicts since the start of Aizen's reign. Most nations had met their end in the World War III that was orchestrated by the false god himself, and had been replaced with new ones. The catalyst of the war was the accursed religion's teaching that was forced upon the already religious nations by the ones that had followed it. The wars all around the world had tragically reduced the world population to two third of the number it used to be in less than ten years. There was only a small number of relatively safe places left in the world, including the new nation where his home was located.

Thanks to his awesome jet, he was able to reach his destination considerably faster than normal. As soon as he landed, his contact greeted him politely and was ready to take his airship to safety. He then took a moment to check the GPS before setting out to his exact destination with a rented motorbike. It had taken him a considerable amount of time to locate the person he planned to meet. If his information proved to be correct, said person had been working as a volunteer doctor in a nearby refugee in the last few years. After several minutes journey through the dirt path, he finally arrived at the small town that mostly consisted of tents. With his keen senses he quickly located the person's Quincy Reiatsu even though it was concealed very well. As he got closer, he noticed that he came at the right time, since the middle aged man was sitting alone under a tree, taking a break.

"Ryuken Ishida?" He couldn't help but to raise an eyebrow at the stressed looking doctor carelessly tossing out a nearly full pack of cigarette.

"Correct. Excuse me, but do we know each other? I've barely associated myself with Shinigami. I thought they have already 'extinct'." The man adjusted his glasses, silently thinking that he had felt a similar Reiatsu to that of the young man in front of him years ago.

"Not exactly. I am Toushiro Hitsugaya. Your son and his friends were good comrades of mine at some point in the past. Do you know what happened to him?" There in a split second he saw a brief pain crossed the doctor's eyes at the mention of his son.

"No and it doesn't really matter anymore. He chose his own path. He much preferred helping the deaths than helping the livings." The last time he saw his son was before he and his group went to Hueco Mundo, and he wouldn't be surprised if his Quincy blood had been poisoned and he died there.

"There's nothing wrong with both choices, and I believe they don't have to be mutually exclusive. Though I have to admit your dedication to your chosen path is very admirable." He had heard once that the Ishida was a quite rich family, but it looked like the older Ishida had given up everything to help others.

"It's all still not enough. Each time I saved a life, I dared to think there's still hope. But I know better than fooling myself. This nightmare will not end with just humans helping each other." He had nearly lost his sanity, seeing that for every life he saved, many more met their end at the same time.

"What if there's really still a hope? Would you set aside your idealism for it?" He knew that some crucial parts of his plan relied heavily on trust and belief, but what else could he do when logic pretty much stated this mission was impossible?

"I would, but what can a doctor like me be any help to you? If you need Quincy skill, I'm afraid there's nothing much left in me." Seriously, the tired man couldn't even remember the last time he summoned a spirit weapon.

"What do you know about Wandenreich the invisible empire?" Even after searching through many Quincy archives, he still found nothing noteworthy about it.

"I didn't know you're interested in old Quincy tales, Hitsugaya-san. It said that they're the main faction of Quincy that 'disappeared' a thousand years ago. As far as I know they're nothing but a fanatical organization consisting of mostly psychos. Not to mention, they have unreasonable distaste for Shinigami. So if you plan to make a pact with them, just forget it." Even as a Quincy, Ryuken much preferred to associated himself with Shinigami than Wandenreich.

"You have a point. But let's say we could stop Aizen without their aid, we would still have to deal with them eventually. On the other hand, if we manage to play our cards right, we'd be able to take advantage of their forces. And regardless the outcome, it'd be impossible for them to avoid losses." Though he had to admit it would be a hell of a task to make them even tolerate a Shinigami like him.

"I see you have already planned it thoroughly. _(Sigh)_ Very well then. At least I won't feel so stupid anymore for taking along the device that my father used to activate the portal with me." He never believed in destiny before, but since he already set aside his idealism, he might as well start to believe such things.

"Lead the way, Doctor Ishida." Even though it was just a start and there was still so much to be done, he could at least let out a breath of relief.

* * *

Hours had passed, but she already lost track of time since she decided to once again lock herself up in her bedroom. Silent tears fell from her eyes without her notice as she gazed at the photograph on top of the bedside table. It was a stupid picture of her trying to strangle the white haired Shinigami after he casually pointed out that she had gained a bit too much weight. She felt so insulted back then and he got what he deserved when she banned him for touching her for a month. It was one of the many precious memories she had made while living there together with him. Back in her dark days in Hueco Mondo, it had never crossed her mind that one day she would experienced such a vibrant life. The time they had together had not been that long, but thanks to it, she could finally taste the sweet flavor of life and found a new reason to live.

Her sisters had been so understanding of her feelings and she really appreciated that. They let her have the privacy she needed to short out her feelings, but she knew they were always ready to be there for her whenever she needed them. To them, she was the strongest woman ever, but they couldn't help being worried of her once in awhile. So she determined to get back quickly into being the woman they had pledged their loyalty to. She would not let them down. She would not let him down. She would do her part here, giving her best to make sure their child would be born safely and grow up well. As she felt a bit better, she remembered him asking her to check out his study. Perhaps having something else to think about was what she needed at that moment, so she got up from the bed and headed to the place he used to spend most of his time in.

As usual, the door wasn't locked because no one else in the house beside him had ever been interested to get in. The first thing that caught her attention was his glasses that he said were actually a device to help him focus his mind. Feeling kinda curious, she tentatively picked it up from the table and carefully putted it on. It worked. She could feel all of her worrisome thoughts being pushed away into the back corner of her mind, but a silly thought suddenly occupied it. She always thought the glasses had a pretty nice design, and as she wore it she kinda wondered if it looked good on her. Unfortunately there was no mirror in that room, but when she was about to go find one, she remembered the webcam on his laptop. Immediately she turned it on and used the camera to see how she looked. She then decided at once that the glasses had become her new favorite device.

"Tier, I noticed that you've decided to leave your room, so I - _(Gasp)_ You look so fabulous!" Mila Rose instantly forgot that she actually came there to ask her mistress to have a breakfast together with the others.

"These glasses function as a mind-focusing device, Franceska. That's why I use it, nothing else." But the blush on her cheeks made her look so unconvincing.

"Uh-huh... They really look good on you though. What are you doing here anyway?" Curious, she carefully moved to stand beside the blonde.

"He told me he had left something for me here. And I figured I should look into his computer first." She wasn't really lying even though it was a bit coincidental.

It didn't take long for her to find something noteworthy. In the desktop there was a shortcut that from the title she believed it was the instruction on how to release her limiter. But she didn't dare to open it yet and decided to ignore it for the time being. Seconds later, she found a detailed information about his bank accounts and a note that said they all had become hers. Feeling a bit shocked that he had given her all of his wealth, she looked away from the screen and her gaze fell on the pieces of paper lying on top of the desk. After reading them carefully, she found out that they were about the legal ownership of his properties, including the house. And it all had been made under her name, her 'human name' of course. A bittersweet smile appeared on her face as she read the letters that spelled 'Tier Heavensward' over and over again.

"Well you shouldn't be that surprised, Tier. According to human law, you are legally his wife after all." The brunette couldn't hold the grin on her face as she saw a blush starting to appear on her sister's face, just like every time she was reminded of her 'marriage'.

"And whose idea was that?" Not that she minded about it, but things had been pretty awkward between her and him in the first couple of weeks.

"Um mine? _(Ahem)_ Anyway, uh have you checked what's inside that fancy box?" Luckily, she did a good job to distract her sister from her bad mood.

Feeling curious herself, the blonde inspected the intricate silver patterns on the mysterious black box before cautiously opening its lid. Inside it were two stacks of even more mysterious cards that seemed to be made from mostly Reishi. One stack consisted of blue cards and the other one consisted of red cards. She picked up one from the red stack and carefully examined it. Amazing, she had to admit that the design looked very artistic as she read the words 'Hado #91. Senju Koten Taiho' on its surface. Her interest was picked even further as she realized that the cards had something to do with Kido, one of Shinigami's famous techniques. She then noticed there was a written instruction behind the box's lid. From it, she learned that her husband had invented those cards so she could use those Kido spells in full power just by channeling her Reiatsu into it, without even need to learn them at all.

* * *

They both had agreed to waste no more time than necessary. So as soon as the doctor let his new colleague in his small abode, he immediately went to search through his belongings for the mentioned device. It didn't take long though, and soon the two began to figure out how it worked. Minutes later they came to a definite conclusion, but when the Quincy was about to activate it, the Shinigami asked him to make his own preparation first. Considering that they would come as intruders, they would most likely be attacked as soon as they arrive. The middle-aged man agreed, because he was also self conscious of his lack of training for the last several years. Once again, he went to the back room to find anything useful and came back a moment later with a Leiden Hant and a pair of Seele Schneider. Finally after making sure everything was ready, they activated the portal to the hidden realm.

"I'll go first if you don't mind. There's a chance they wouldn't immediately attack if they recognize me as a Quincy." After receiving an affirmative nod from the other man, the doctor stepped through the portal.

By the time he exited the portal, the Quincy doctor sighed in relief, seeing there seemed to be no one in the deserted street he ended up at. As he glanced around the nearby buildings, he noticed how suspiciously quite the place was. Instinctively he putted his guard up and he was right to do so. Two Heilig Pfeil were shot toward him from different directions, but his reflex was proven to be still sharp enough as he parried the arrows with his Seele Schneider. The fight proceeded with him dual wielding the blades to protect himself from the barrage of glowing blue arrows. He kept on his defensive strategy for a few minutes until he finally managed to pinpoint his two attackers' exact locations. The fight finally ended once he used Hirenkyaku to reposition himself before firing each of his blades at his caught off guard opponents, killing them instantly.

"Well I guess it's too much to ask for them to recognize me as a Quincy while even I barely recognize myself as one. Don't you agree, Hitsu-" His eyes widen instantly when all of a sudden a huge blast of electricity was about to crash on him from behind.

"Bakudo #81. Danku." The Shinigami inspected that the translucent barrier he cast was more than strong enough to block the devastating blast as he stepped away from the portal he just exited from.

"Thank you." As the explosion dissipated, the doctor focused his gaze at the female Quincy standing a distance away whom he suspected as his attacker.

"What the hell?! No, I don't care what that shit is. But it shouldn't have been possible!" In anger, the green haired woman then prepared to fire an electricity-imbued Heilig Pheil at the two intruders.

"That is a Kido spell, just like this one. Bakudo #8. Seki." He moved forward and generated the light blue energy orb in time to repel the deadly projectile.

"Shut up, you bast... Bast... Bastian?" She was shocked once she finally got a good look at the Shinigami's face that resembled someone she knew in the past.

"I don't know who that is, but my name is Toushiro Hitsugaya. And the fellow Quincy you attacked earlier is Doctor Ryuken Ishida." It baffled him slightly how the woman who seconds ago was trying to kill them suddenly seemed to recognize him.

"Candi, why didn't you tell me you're going to have fun - _(Gasp)_ Basti!" This time, a woman with wavy pink hair came out of nowhere before throwing herself at the clueless Shinigami as soon as she saw him.

"H-Hold on, Miss!" He shivered slightly as the thought of his wife finding him in such a compromising position with another woman crossed his mind.

"Get away from him, Meninas! Can't you tell he's a Shinigami?!" Candice didn't really know what was going on, but she was sure they were not supposed to hug a Shinigami so affectionately like what her friend was doing.

"Huh? How could you become a Shinigami, Basti?" She pulled away a bit to take a better look at the white haired boy.

"I've been a Shinigami since I was a kid. So I'm afraid you're mistaken. I'm not who you possibly think I am." It wasn't that he didn't enjoy the feels of her body being pressed so close to him, he was just not that kind of guy anymore, so he gently pried her arms off his neck before stepping back.

"Now, why do a filthy Shinigami and an outcast Quincy dare to come here?!" The temperamental Sternritter readied her Heilig Bogen again.

"Listen, there's no chance for the two of us to survive against the whole Wandenreich. We're only here to request a meeting with the Grandmaster." The doctor had finished retrieving his blades by the time he spoke up again.

"Lord Haschwalth? Oh, I can take you two to him alright!" Meninas looked to be particularly giddy for a reason unknown to the two intruders.

" _(Groan)_ Seriously, Meni? You can't ignore that they are intruders just because you're excited to see your man!" But her protest seemed to fall on deaf ears as she watched the other woman grabbed the Shinigami's arm before leading them away.

* * *

The three strode through the deserted street of the Wandenreich city with the angry woman following a few feet behind. Silbern, the Wandenreich headquarter could already be seen from afar. From the shadows, numerous Soldat stared hard at the intruders, but they didn't dare to do anything because the intruders were already being escorted by two Sternritter. Most likely, almost everyone in the city was already aware about their arrival, especially the Sternritter. As they finally got to their destination, the two could feel several high level spiritual powers all around the big building. They're closing on them, but somehow decided not to show themselves. The four didn't encounter anyone as they walked through the spacious hallway toward the assembly hall. A few minutes later, they arrived at the large hall, and there awaiting them was a tall man with long blonde hair.

"Please close the door, Candi..." The pink haired Sternritter appeared to be in a daze as she moved closer to their handsome Grandmaster.

"Hey watch it, Meni! I'm not a freakin servant!" Though she begrudgingly did what her friend asked, just because she was the last to enter of course.

"My name is Jugram Haschwalth the Sternritter Grandmaster. It is quite a surprise to see such familiar faces." He already knew that the Quincy was the son of the Ishida traitor, but the Shinigami... he wasn't so sure even though the face was very familiar.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lord Haschwalth. My name is Ryuken Ishida, and this young man is Toushiro Hitsugaya." The doctor had only ever heard of the Grandmater's reputation in the past, and never expected him to be that calm but very intimidating.

"I appreciate how you remain highly civilized and reasonable even though you must have already noticed that I'm a Shinigami." But he still needed to keep his guard up, because he could tell how unpredictable the man actually was.

"Now I remember. According to our archive, Toushiro Hitsugaya was the Captain of the Tenth Division of the Gotei 13. Interesting, I heard that the whole Gotei 13 had fallen under Sousuke Aizen's control." It made the Grandmaster even more curious about the young Shinigami.

"I'm the only one who managed to survive, and since then I've made it my mission to make right everything that Aizen has wronged. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that the Wandenreich also oppose Aizen's supremacy over the world." He subtlety hinted at his true intention for coming there.

"You are not wrong on that one. It is an unforgivable insult to the Wandenreich that someone like Aizen had dared to take over everything that rightfully should have only belonged to our almighty lord. However, it would be foolish for us to deny that even with the return of The Almighty, the chance we have against the false god is still very slim. In this situation, we don't oppose the prospect for alliance, but I suppose it would be wise for us to only accept worthy allies." With graceful expertise, the Grandmaster of the Sternritter then readied his powerful set of spirit weapons, a sword and a shield.

"That is completely understandable." In response, the Shinigami also unsheathed his Zanpakuto after he waited for the others to move aside first.

The Sternritter started the fight by dashing forward as if trying to deliver an upward slash, but in a flash he skillfully changed his posture and used his sword to fire a powerful energy blast instead. Any lesser opponent would have been finished off by that highly dangerous attack, but this one was able to evade the blast even just barely. The long haired man didn't give his opponent a chance to recover though. He used his expertise in Hirenkyaku to close the gap in a split second, and was sure he could finish his opponent for real this time with a precise stab at the heart. However, something that had been deemed impossible by everyone in Wandenreich happened. The Shinigami somehow managed to parry Jugram Haschwalth's executing move while delivering a counterattack with a strong kick to his chest. Finally realizing his opponent's true capacity, the Sternritter decided to move back a bit and assess the situation.

"The prospect for an alliance has become more promising indeed. It is only fair for me to show you my respect then. Quincy: Vollständig." As he said the sacred words that no one had had ever heard coming from him before, he became an angel-like being, complete with a pair of feathery Reishi wings.

The Grandmaster proved that his transformation was far from just in appearance as he flew forward and quickly overwhelmed his opponent. The Shinigami used advance strategies to try to keep up not only with the Quincy's increase in speed and strength, but also his unparalleled skill in swordsmanship. It was a futile attempt though, until he decided to activate his own transformation, shrouding him in a misty aura. The course of the fight once again changed then as the Shinigami slowly began to get the upper hand. He managed to land several critical strikes with his blade, but to his puzzlement somehow the Sternritter didn't appear to be wounded at all. Something was definitely not right and he failed to anticipate it when suddenly he was wounded severely in several places. As he tried to make sense of the situation, he then noticed that the locations of his wounds were similar to where he struck the Sternritter earlier.

"I've decided it would be better for balance if you're the one who suffers those injuries." The Grandmmaster was actually impressed that he had to use his Schrift to defeat the ex Captain whom he noticed had reverted back to his base form.

"I'll apologize first hand then, because I'm about to mess up with your balance again. Bankai." The first thing he did once he activated this form was freezing the Quincy's shield that was strangely never used for defense to his suspicion, and from there he guessed it had something to do with the unique power.

"So that is your Bankai. I was mistaken then for thinking the form you used earlier is your Bankai. Though I wonder what you wish to accomplish by coating my Freund Schild in -" His eyes suddenly widened once he noticed that his prized artifact had lost its unique ability.

"You've negated its function. _(Chuckle)_ It seems like your similarity with The Nullify is not limited in appearance." He let himself be amused for a moment before deciding to use the other aspect of his Schrift to inflict fatal wounds on his opponent by 'balancing' his good fortune for getting the upper hand.

" _(Gasp)_ Basti!" Meninas ran toward the Shinigami's falling body, but as it was about to hit the ground, it suddenly turned into ice that then shattered to pieces.

" **I believe this fight is over.** " The real Toushiro Hitsugaya appeared behind the Grandmaster with his blade pointed closely toward the shocked man's neck.

* * *

 **I know it's never been mentioned in the manga, but I believe as the Sternritter Grandmaster, Haschwalth must've been able to perform Vollst** ** **ä** ndig. Also I ******don't think** anyone notice it, but it is very subtly implied in this chapter that I'm planning to replace Robert Accutrone (Sternritter N) with an OC that might or might not appear later. I ******doubt** anyone would miss old Robert whose Schrift has never even been mentioned anywhere.**


	6. Chapter 6

**With the new direction of the story, I found it fitting to give it a new title.**

* * *

Time itself had seemed to stop as the Shinigami pointed his blade right at the Quincy lord's neck. There in the same hall, the two female Sternritter could hardly believe that someone had managed to best the seemingly invincible Jugram Haschwalth. It was true that not every Quincy held their grandmaster in good regard, but even then, none of them would ever question his capacity as their emperor's 'second-in-command. As far as they knew, even the elite Schutzstaffel members had never reached beyond a standstill against him in the very rare occurrences of them sparring. And to be clear, a deathmatch was probably the most sensible word to describe the intensity of their spars. However, at that moment the fact still remained that the said man just lost in a fair duel to a Shinigami who mysteriously had uncanny resemblances with a missing member of their elite guards.

"Congratulation, Toushiro Hitsugaya. You have successfully gained my approval. You are now permitted to speak directly to his majesty, but it would be much appropriate if you make yourself look more presentable beforehand. Miss McAllon and Miss Catnipp can show you the way there later." The long-haired man gracefully sheathed his sword before walking away as if the deadly fight he just experienced earlier didn't affect him in the slightest.

"Thank you, Lord Haschwalth. We'll be there as soon as possible." Even though it would take much worse wounds than that to hinder him, he had to admit he looked far too messy to have a meeting with a monarch.

"I can take a look at your injuries. However, I wouldn't feel offended if you trust the use of your Kido more than my medical knowledge." The Quincy doctor joked slightly, relieved that surprisingly things had gone relatively well so far.

"I appreciate the offer, doctor. But I'm sure Captain Unohana would've scolded me if I can't treat this kind of injuries by myself." Quickly the young Shinigami removed his black turtleneck and began to utilize all his knowledge in Kaido technique to heal his wounds.

" _(Whistle)_ He's certainly a different person than who we thought he is, Meni. I don't remember Bastian looking that good shirtless..." The brazen one of the two females licked her lips as she shamelessly enjoyed the view.

"As tempting as it is to flirt with you, Miss Catnipp, a certain woman would kill me if she found out about it. Anyway, you two keep talking about this Bastian fellow and how similar I am to him. Care to elaborate?" He would never admit it, but he actually enjoyed and rather missed that kind of attention from females like what the Quincy women currently gave him.

"You really look like Basti, you know. He had lighter skin tone though, now that I think about it... and his eyes were grey, not as pretty as yours, Toushi!" Still in wonderment, the pink-haired woman didn't notice how the young man seemed irritated by the new nickname she just gave him.

"Bastian Schauffern or The Nullify used to be one of the four Schutzstaffel, the elite guards of the emperor. At some point in the past, he left the Wandenreich city and stay with the leftover Quincy that remained in the human world after the great war a thousand years ago. He then helped their resistance against the Shinigami's oppression at that time. Of course since he was one of our best, it wasn't that much of a a surprise that he did well even against the whole Soul Society with only those useless fools as allies. You wouldn't believe it, but your people had to use a cheap trick to stop him. They secretly sent one deceitful wench to gain his trust and eventually lead him into arrest. The last thing we heard, he got executed immediately after that. _(Sigh)_ Such a shame really. He was the only one here that we girls could really call a friend." Even though she tried to hid it, the grief was still apparent in Candice's eyes.

"We would've tried to save him if only Lord Haschwalth didn't forbid us from going. I knew he had a good reason for that, but still..." Meninas remembered that it was the only time she had ever felt any resentment towards her beloved leader.

"That make sense, I suppose. There was a story that used to be told to Quincy children in the world of the living about the bravery of a great Quincy hero. I can see the resemblance with that children story." It actually surprised the doctor that the story he often heard when he was a child was actually real.

"The conflict with the Quincy had been pretty much nonexistent by the time I joined the Gotei 13. It's highly unlikely for me to have ever met him somehow in the past. Well, he seemed like a more than decent person. It's not that bad to look similar with him, I guess." Right then he finished mending the last of his wounds as best as he could for the time being, and carefully putted his shirt back on after that.

"Aw, it's too soon for the show to be over, don't you think? Let's have a wild spar later on and you give me another show afterwards, in private of course. How bout it?" Seeing the annoyance on his slightly blushing face made the green-haired woman decide to add teasing this Shinigami as her new hobby.

"No thank you, Miss Catnipp. I'm not interested in that kind of things, at least not anymore. Now, could you please show us the way? We shouldn't keep his majesty waiting." He got even more annoyed seeing the two female Sternritter giggled and whispered to each other as they led the way.

* * *

They had only been walking for a few minutes through the large corridors when the two women stopped before an unremarkable-looking door. Doctor Ishida was about to question whether they had come to the right place, but stopped himself as they saw the door being opened from the inside by none other than Haschwalth. The grandmaster then curtly asked their guests to come in and dismissed his two female subordinates that had been escorting them. They all followed his command quietly since it was clear that things would only get more serious from then on. On the inside, the small room was lit only by torches and decorated with filigree. The two guests didn't take a further look at the room as they quickly focused their attention on the daunting figure with long dark hair sitting on a small throne. Just from sensing the air around him alone, they had no doubt that he was the one and only almighty lemperor of the Quincy.

"Your majesty, allow me to introduce the ones who seek an alliance with us. A Quincy from the outer world Ryuken Ishida. And a former Shinigami Captain Toushiro Hitsugaya." It was just a formality, since he knew their emperor was aware of everything that happened within the Schatten Bereich.

"What a rare occurrence to see such familiar faces. One resembles a wayward Quincy. Fortunately, I can see that you are far smarter than your father. I hereby welcome you here to your righteous place, among true Quincy." The emperor made a small gesture and smiled subtly when the bespectacled man knelt down and bowed at him, showing that he understood the meaning.

"It's an honor, your majesty." With how serious he seemed to be, no one would suspect that the doctor was actually just playing along.

"And the other one... You bear uncanny resemblances with our fallen hero indeed, the man who will always be remembered not only as a great general of the Quincy empire army, but also as an irreplaceable comrade. It's hard to believe that you are actually a Shinigami, instead of a proud Quincy like him." Actually, he could already see the truth of the young Shinigami's origin just by sensing his Reiatsu, but he deemed it wasn't necessary to reveal it for the time being.

"I don't mean any disrespect, but I've heard that often since I arrived here. The truth is I was born in Soul Society and became a Shinigami since I was a child. So, it is safe to assume that our similarities are just coincidence." He was a man of logic and believed that there's always a reason behind everything, but he somehow didn't feel comfortable indulging in this particular subject further.

"Don't be so eager to judge anything as truth, young Shinigami. The world is full of mysteries. And there is one in particular that pique my interest. I can feel that you also share a peculiar resemblance with me. Tell me, have you ever experienced death during your time as a Shinigami?" It was something that only people who had fallen in battle and miraculously gained a second chance like Ywach could see.

"I... To be honest, my Zanpakuto spirit had once told me that I had indeed died for sometimes after Aizen struck me down years ago. Is there something I need to know, your majesty?" He was highly puzzled and intrigued by this matter that seemingly came out of nowhere.

"Then you are no longer a mere Shinigami to me. Just like me, you too are a Revenant. Someone who has risen back from the dead to fulfill their undying zeal. With The Almighty, I can see how our fates would be interwoven together by our zeal. This knowledge alone has made me consider you as an ally. The only thing left is to discuss the terms before we officially forge this alliance. So now, state the term that you have prepared." The split irises and pupils of Ywach's eyes indicated that he was using his power to see numerous possible futures that might happen from this alliance, and he seemed pleased by all of them.

"The hope to save my comrades has been one of the main driving forces for me to fight against all odds. And recently, I have finished an antidote for Aizen's perfect hypnotism. Let me ask just one thing. Please don't give in to your vengeance. Allow me the opportunity to save my people." Given the long and bloody history the Quincy had with the Shinigami, he was aware that their hatred might never cease, but he hoped they were at least sensible enough to set it aside.

"That is one simple but utmost controversial term you set there. I will still accept it, but in one condition. I want you to become a honorary member of the Schutzstaffel." It was basically a subtle and respectable way to indirectly bind the young Shinigami under his command.

"I would be honored, your majesty." He was well aware of the real motive behind the offer and could already feel the heavy weight of his decision.

"And I am proud to have you as an ally. There's no doubt you have already devised a serious plan for our upcoming crusade against the false god. I would very much like to hear it. However, it could wait for later, preferably in a meeting with all of the Sternritter. Now, it's only proper for us to give the two of you a time to rest after your journey." Right at that moment, the torches near the throne all died out at once, shrouding the Quincy emperor in darkness.

"Follow me. We have prepared spare rooms for you to rest. At ease. Everyone has already been in a strict order to not disturb you." The grandmaster then led the two guests out of the room quietly, but not before giving his master one respectful bow.

* * *

The rooms that had been provided were surprisingly larger and overall looked better than the one used by the emperor himself. He even took a moment to admire the high quality of the room once he was left alone. He wasn't that knowledgeable about interior design, but he could still appreciate its classic european style. The sophisticated king size bed in particular looked very inviting to his tired body, even though he seriously doubted he could get any rest, knowing that he was actually in a place populated by very dangerous Quincy. Well, he could at least use the bathroom to clean up properly. The next few minutes, the sound of a shower could be heard in the quiet place as he spent more time than necessary there, since the cold water was rather effective in calming his mind. Once he was done, he sit at the corner of the bed with an apple in hand for some time before feeling bored and left the room.

As he casually strolled through the quiet hallways, he wondered if it was always that gloomy there. He passed by several Quincy on his way, but each one of them always seemed overly cautious of him. No one said anything though, so the grandmaster's statement earlier must've been true. He decided to paid no mind to it since he had no interest to interact with those Quincy beyond necessary. A cold wind that breezed through the large pillars made him look outside at the vast city that could rival Seireitei in size. He then remembered that he had been at the upper tier of the massive building. With a quick Shunpo he appeared outside beyond the pillars, and looked around at the clearer view of the city. Naturally, the ice covering the area didn't bother him at all. Looking up, he spotted the pair of strange giant structures arching toward each other that framed the building.

"The view should be even better from there." It shouldn't get him in trouble, so he leaped on top of one of the tall structures and sit there for around an hour.

"There you are! D'you know how disappointed I was when I didn't find you in your room? I expected you to wait there for me like a good boy, you know. Damn, I got excited for nothing..." A certain Quincy woman suddenly appeared beside the Shinigami and ruined his solitude.

"I never found waiting for a woman interesting, sorry. What do you want, Miss Catnipp? Surely you're not here just to harass me." He couldn't understand how this violent woman who was so hostile in the beginning suddenly become this annoyingly flirty towards him.

"Besides wanting to have some fun with you? Well, there's also this crazy shit Haschwalth asked me to give you. Man, is this for real?! They seriously made you join the Schutzstaffel? I know you're ridiculously strong and all, but you're a Shinigami! Even if you've joined us, it's still so unfair! I mean, you're the newbie here." With a huff, she shoved the fabric that turned out to be the Wandenreich elite guard uniform at him.

"You can keep it if you want, but don't blame me if you got in trouble later." After briefly inspecting the distinctive hooded coat, in particular the large black symbol on its left side, he decided to try it.

"Holy shit. If I didn't know better, I would also think that you are _him_..." She couldn't believe how the cloak made him appear just like her old friend.

"I assume it looks good on me then..." He could understand somewhat that this cloak might be the equivalent to a Captain haori in prestige.

"It does. Be sure to wear it proudly. He and the other Schutzstaffel were the reason we survived the massacre a thousand years ago. When the emperor fell against your commander back then, we all lost hope. I and the others were ready to fight till death, but the idiot stopped us, saying there's no glory in fighting a battle we've already lost. He then had this crazy idea that we should retreat to the place that would be least suspected by the enemy, the Seireitei. Till now, I still couldn't believe we actually listened to him, though it worked well in the end. We used the Reishi to create space in the shadows that eventually became this city." It was still hard to believe to her that over a thousand years had passed since they built their new home.

"That's... so cunning. So, this place actually exists in a dimension within Seireitei?" It finally made sense why somehow he felt familiar with the atmosphere.

"Awesome, right? It's like we're giving the middle finger to those fuckers this whole time. We're using the abundant Reishi in Soul Society as a power source. For a millennia, we had been gathering power and waiting for our emperor to awaken again, so we could get our sweet revenge. But that wannabe-god ruined it all, just before we could even begin no less." She hated to admit it, but her desire for revenge had been nearly forgotten since they found out about Aizen.

"Aizen is basically a back-stabbing psycho with a god-complex. To be honest... I fear the possibility that your emperor would somehow turn out to be not so different than him in the end." He instantly felt ridiculous for sharing his concern with someone who was most likely a very loyal Quincy.

"Heh, don't be. He might look so ambitious, but there's always a deeper meaning behind his actions. We just know it." Although in the inside, she couldn't get over her own concern that their master seemed to have become rather different than the person they knew in the beginning.

"It's hard to believe that you all just follow him blindly though. No offense, but I suspect there must be other reasons behind your loyalties." He would never believed that someone like this woman would do anything without something in return.

"I still feel offended. You're not wrong tho. He promised he will grant us a wish, anything we want, once we won our last battle." She understood though, that not every one of them and maybe not even herself would last till the last battle.

"What is your wish then?" Somehow he felt there might be something not so bad about this woman beyond her brazen persona.

"You don't want to know. Trust me, you'd be blushing so hard till you passed out if you hear it." She was sure it would deter him from trying to find out further.

" _(Sigh)_ I wouldn't expect anything less from you. Well, I guess I'll go back to my room. I'll see you in the meeting, Miss Catnipp." After speaking with her and finding out that they were actually not as bad as he originally thought, he supposed he could rest a bit easier.

"Sure thing. Sleep well, Toushi! If you're up for it though, I can go with you. I'm still in the mood, you know!" She then laughed hard when the man stumbled down ungracefully from the high structure just as he was about to flash-stepped away.

* * *

More than once, her 'husband' had told her that it was better for her to remain oblivious of his plan. She understood how important it was for her safety to not disobey him. However, she supposed it wouldn't be good for her baby if she remained this worried and stressed. At least it would make her feel better if she knew where he was and what he was doing. So, after much contemplation she decided to take a risk by trying to contact a certain creep who most likely had the answer to her questions. Unfortunately, there was nothing but some annoying comment about how 'touched' he was that she had remembered to sent him an e-mail and a promised that he would come to visit soon in his reply. And that was why she and her sisters anxiously waited in the living room for their very unwanted but required guest that fine evening. Their moods got even worse once Apacchi went to answer the doorbell not long later.

"Excuse me, ma'ams. Is this really the Heavenswards residence? It's so far from home! I'm kinda lost here." And there, the one person they would like to see the least walked into the living room in a human business suit that looked so strange on him.

"Just sit down and tell everything I need to know, Ichimaru." Honestly, she wouldn't even let him touch the couch if she hadn't learnt human courtesy.

"Ah Tia-chan, that's so kind of you. You look so ready to be a mother! Is it gonna be a boy or a girl?" He would never admit it, but he was honestly bewildered when he found out a few months ago that their 'innocent' Shiro-chan had unintentionally made the female Espada pregnant.

"We don't know yet, and it doesn't concern you. Now answer this. Has Toushiro ever mentioned about his plan to you? Is he going to be okay?" The concern in her voice was apparent enough to make their guest drop his creepy grin as he took a seat quietly.

"Nah, I've been mostly the one who provided information to him, not the other way around. I s'posed it would be harder for him to trust me if I question him too much. Though I still remember that one time when he asked me what it's like to be the bad guy, and... By the way, it'd be nice if someone could offer me a drink... coffee would be great!" The grin was back again as he watched Sung-Sun sighed before leaving the room to get his order.

"And?! What was your answer?" She should have expected that this guy would stoop so low as to leave a cliffhanger during a serious conversation.

"It's fun, of course! _(Chuckle)_ Well, life is like a fairy tale. There are ones who are destined as the hero, the villain, and the supporting characters. The difference is sometimes there's one other role in life. Sometimes it's necessary for some side characters who were just minding their own business to risk their name, honor, feelings, future... anything to make sure the story wouldn't end up so messed up if the hero couldn't get their shit together. How foolish. They would get nothing in the end, and most likely be remembered as nothing but just another bad guy regardless the outcome. Let's hope Hitsugaya-kun is far too smart to be one of those losers." This time, surprisingly he gave a strange but warm smile as Sung-Sun served his drink, taking every one of them off guard.

"I know how reliable he really is. I just wish I could do something to help him. He has far outclassed me. I should have realized sooner that actually I don't even have any influence over anything." This made her think about how basically she hadn't made that much progress from her pitiful origin.

"That's debatable. I'm surprised you've never noticed how much the female residents of Hueco Mundo depended on your formidable reputation. In fact, since you've gone missing, there has been an absurd increase of oppression and violence toward them to the point they decided to flee from Las Noches awhile ago." Seeing it would take a moment for them to recover from their shock after hearing the news, he decided to take some nice gulps of his coffee.

"Where are they now? You must know about it!" It never changed, she would never stop caring about her people no matter what.

"Don't be so worried. I've made sure that an order has been issued to not bother with them. They're pretty smart, you know. They've managed to find a relatively safe hiding place in a long forgotten corner of Hueco Mundo. I'm sure you're quite familiar with the Negal Ruins.?" He supposed only the ones who had lived in Hueco Mundo for centuries knew about the place, with the few exception of highly knowledgeable people like him.

"Sung-Sun, Apacchi, make preparations to head there as soon as possible. Once you get there, tell them I'll be back for them." There had been a time in the past when she took her sisters to venture there, and she was sure they still remembered where it was.

"Well, I see you all now have a much important thing to discuss, and couldn't care less about the poor guest here... I'd better get going then?" As expected, he didn't even receive a glance from them as they busily discussed the new problem, so with a shrug he quietly took his leave.

* * *

As he opened his eyes, he noticed he wasn't in the same room that he had fallen asleep in earlier. Instead of the guest room that had been provided by the Wandenreich, it was the familiar bedroom he had back home. Of course it didn't take long for him to figure out that it was a dream. Once he got a better feel of his surroundings, he felt a woman's body snuggled intimately to his side, as well as her steady breath upon his neck. The glimpse of familiar unruly blonde hair out of the corner of his eyes gave him an obvious clue of her identity. Damn, he missed her so much already. It was unbelievable how much he wished this was the reality, and his time in Silbern was nothing but a silly dream. At the very least he could enjoy being with her in the dream for little awhile, he supposed. He then shifted gently, but just as he was about to move his face closer to hers, he was awaken harshly by a jolt of electricity throughout his body.

" _(Snort)_ That was priceless. Ahahaha!" Unsurprisingly, a certain thunder-loving Quincy was the one responsible for his misery.

"That was so mean, Candi..." Meninas tried her best to look more sympathetic, though her amusement was more apparent on her face.

"What was that for?! And what the hell are you two doing here? This is a man's room!" It was unusual for him to not welcome beautiful women in his room, but those two were definitely an exception.

"Show more excitement, will you? Two of the hottest Sternritter ever has come willingly into your room. So now, what will you do with us... Toushi?" The woman seductively crawled into the bed, making sure to stretch her revealing outfit with each move, before laying sensually just next to his distressed figure.

"Go easy on him, Candi. I think he's not ready to play with you yet. You just woke him up, remember? Poor Toushi... he seemed to be having a nice sleep. What were you dreaming about anyway?" Feeling rather curious, she joined them into the bed and took a seat close to him on his other side.

"Nothing. It was a dreamless sleep." It was hard to sound nonchalant though, what with those two well-endowed women each on his sides.

"Bullshit. Even Liltotto would've been able to tell that you were having a dirty dream." She could easily tell how aroused he was, but she wasn't sure if it was caused by being stuck in between two sexy Quincy or by the dream he just experienced.

"Okay okay! I tell you there was nothing dirty about it. It was just me lying in a bed with the most attractive woman ever." And he was sure that said attractive woman would destroy him if she saw him in a bed with these two.

"What does she look like, Toushi? I bet she's prettier than Candice." She easily ignored her friend's glare in favor of the oh-so interesting subject.

"Definitely prettier. She's also without a doubt far curvier than this shameless woman. It's no contest really." It was unexpectedly more satisfying than he thought to see Candice looked so scandalized like that.

"Well, if she was that attractive, why did you just lay there like a wimp and do nothing else to her?" She doubted he had never been with a woman though.

"Maybe I would, if a certain madwoman didn't barge in here and electrify me before I got the chance." He could still feel the irritating tingling all over his body.

"Aw, want me to make up for it? I guess we could afford to spare a few more minutes before we got in trouble. It'd be close tho." Of course she wasn't serious, because even she wouldn't dare to think what would happen if they got late for such reason.

"Wait, what? This make sense. You two were sent here to inform me about the meeting... But instead of doing just that right away like professionals, you forced me to endure this nonsense..." He got a dreadful feeling that having these two around him would be worse than dealing with Matsumoto.

"Oh, right! Lord Haschwalth would be disappointed if we got late, Candi." On the other hand though, Meninas was looking forward to be called by him for a well deserved scolding in private.

"Yeah right. You just can't wait for your so anticipated 'punishment' in his quarters, can you?" She would never understand why her friend kept pinning after their grandmaster, even though he never showed that he saw her as anything more than a convenient tool.

"Can you two be serious for once and show me the way please? Hopefully some more competent persons has come to inform Ishida." He quickly got out of bed and putted on his newly assigned coat, making sure he looked more presentable this time.

* * *

It looked like they were last to arrive at the meeting, and maybe a bit late by the looks of it. Doctor Ishida was already there standing beside Haschwalth at the center of the open-air war room. Ywach himself who sat calmly on his throne seemed to have been waiting for a few minutes. Various others of white-uniformed figures who were most likely the rest of the Sternritter lined up along the walls, staring at them. They all emitted particularly strong vibes, but were still nothing compared to the grandmaster and of course the emperor. Just as he finished his observation, suddenly he sensed the otherworldly presences of three figures behind the emperor's throne. Slowly the three stepped out of the shadow, showing that they also wore the same hooded coats as his. The still atmosphere was finally broken when the biggest of the three Schutzstaffel confidently walked up to him.

"So, this is the replacement for The Nullify. A worthy replacement I must say! By besting The Balance you've proven that you're not only alike the original in appearance but also in might. Looking forward fighting alongside you, friend! Don't disappoint me." The helmet-wearing Quincy was about to give the Shinigami a good slap on the back but stopped himself as he felt his emperor's disapproval.

"That's enough, Gerard Valkyrie. I believe Haschwalth has fill everyone in about our new honorary member. We can save proper greetings and introductions for later. Surely young Hitsugaya wouldn't mind with it. So, let's begin this war meeting." His gaze rested on the Shinigami, giving him a silent permission to speak.

"First, let me apologize for my late arrival. Now about the upcoming war, we all know how irrational it is to confront Aizen's forces head on. We should draw them out, take the fight far away from their bases and capital. We're in a difficult situation already. We can't even afford to let them measure our strengths. It would give us a critical advantage if they remain oblivious of our true motive. Let them take us lightly, and we shall take them out gradually. To start this, we can play the part of a cliche organization that merely seek to conquer the human world. And that's where we should take the battles to." As everyone else took a moment to contemplate his proposal, he noticed the emperor's mysteriously pleased smile.

"Back to the beginning. I like the sound of it. You just described what our first empire more or less was. Originally, we only sought to conquer the world, before I found a greater calling and we began to oppose Soul Society. I think it would be nice to see our Empire of Light rises again. Don't you think so, Lille Barro?" He turned to look at the man who had been there with him since he started his original empire.

"Yes, your majesty. However, this raises a concern. One of the deciding factors that led to Lichtreich's fall a millennia ago is still there. The amount of Reishi in the human world is not sufficient for us to unleash our true power." He had nothing against the young Shinigami and didn't even object to him joining the elite group he led, but he would not tolerate a mere miscalculation risk their current empire.

"That's where my knowledge will play its part. I've developed the technology to bypass that problem. With my command, a special built satellite from space will fire a unique wave that has the ability to significantly multiply the amount of Reishi in the atmosphere for a period of time at the targeted location on earth. With it, I'm positive every Quincy will be able to perform at their best and possibly even beyond that if required." Times like this made him remember how right he had been to take inspiration from a certain 'humble' shop owner, and stop limiting his genius mind from things unrelated with fighting.

"That sounds great and all, Mister Imitation. But how can we be sure you're not just baffling, huh? Don't think we would easily trust you just because you look like The Nullify. You are not him." The dark haired female Sternritter sneered at the Shinigami, being sure that the others also shared the same opinion with her.

"Where is your manner, Miss Basterbine? Do remember that you are currently in his majesty's presence." At once, Haschwalth sent her a cold glare that instantly made her lower her face in fear.

"That's a reasonable concern, Miss Basterbine. I'm ready to show the prove once we reach an agreement. And about trust, I don't expect to ever gain it from any of you. I'm not even a hundred percent sure we would succeed. There's only one thing I'm sure of. We are our only hope for each other." He believed no one there was delusional enough to not realize that if they didn't take this chance, their fate would be permanently sealed.

"Very well. Toushiro Hitsugaya, I appoint you as our general for this war. I'm going to stay in Silbern for the time being along with Pernida Parnkgjas. The rest of you, march back to where we started!" With this command, everyone bowed respectfully at the emperor before he disappeared from the war room.

"You heard the emperor's decree, general?" The grandmaster looked expectantly at the still surprised young man.

"Alright... **Sternritter, move out!** " It would take no less than a minute for him to realize that he had no idea where they were going.


	7. Chapter 7

High above the clouds of Atlantic ocean, an unusual looking airship glowed briefly before suddenly turning invisible as it was about to enter the Europe continent. The technologically advanced machine was none other than the one Toushiro Hitsugaya left behind in the Bloodied Borderlands before his sudden departure to the Wandenreich city. He once again used it to travel across the same ocean, albeit in opposite direction, and this time he was accompanied by the Quincy doctor Ryuken Ishida. The two had finally managed to find the time between their busy schedule after their return to the world of the living to go back there and retrieve their belongings. Though, of course it was one of the things they had to do as soon as possible, since most of the researches that could greatly affect the course of the upcoming war were being kept inside the airship.

"We're already back in Europe... _(Sigh)_ Hitsugaya-san, surely you have noticed that I could hardly be considered a fighter any longer. Don't get me wrong, I'm completely willing to give you my assistance, but is there really a purpose for me to partake in the war?" It still baffled him that instead of leaving him behind, the Shinigami insisted that he came along with him again.

"Well, I've also noticed that given some time, it is more than possible for you to surpass most of the Sternritter if you're willing to try. Your help would be very important, Doctor. Whilst I trust that the Wandenreich would honor the agreement to spare my comrades, I doubt they could care less about saving them, or even the rest of the world for that matter." Still, it was a relief that somehow he had been granted the permission to lead such a dangerous force.

"How about those two Sternritter women? They seem to have developed a strong attachment to you already. I've also accidentally heard a rumor that you and the green-haired one has slept together -" The usually composed doctor had to hold back a scream as the jet suddenly moved wildly for a few seconds.

"Sorry about that. _(Ahem)_ About the ridiculous rumor, I'm sure you're far too intelligent to even consider its possibility. That psychotic woman always finds some kind of sick pleasure in messing up with me. I've got to admit though... despite that, it's not hard for me to see myself sharing close camaraderie with her and Miss McAllon in the future." And strangely, he found himself in some way looking forward to it.

"That's a good thing, I suppose. It would be in our favor if you manage to befriend them. This unexpected turn of event is still hard to believe though. What is the chance that you a Shinigami actually has a strong resemblance with a fallen Quincy hero?" He had some theories behind it, but all of them seemed unlikely.

"I try not to think about it, but I would be lying if I said it doesn't bother me. Normally every cycle of rebirth always ends up in the world of the living, but is it possible for a Quincy to be reborn in Soul Society?" Honestly, he didn't want to accept the possibility, but it'd be better than letting it continuously bother him.

"No. The anomaly that is Quincy technically resemble spiritual beings more than human beings. There are no souls in us that would transmigrate to Soul Society once we died. And to my knowledge, every case of literal rebirth indeed always happens as a human." Ryuken could say that with such certainty because he had witnessed the proof firsthand when his wife passed away.

"I'm glad that it's out of the question then. Now I can focus my mind on the tasks ahead. It was stupid of me to even consider it." Seriously, there were credible records and claims that prove his identity as a natural born soul.

"Still, pardon me if it might be rather blunt, Hitsugaya-san. How much do you know about your parents or ancestors?" He was certain that the young Shinigami could easily figure out what he was trying to point out.

"The only blood relative I have is my grandmother. I really hope I still have her... I've lost contact with her for years. She once told me that her daughter was my mother. No one knows about my father though. _(Sigh)_ You can't be serious, Ishida-san. My Reiatsu doesn't resemble those of Quincy in the slightest bit." If it did, he would've spent much more time in the S.R.D.I. since he joined the Gotei 13.

"True. Well, it's not unheard of to discover completely unrelated people that look similar to each other." Not wanting to cause unnecessary worries, he decided not to mention that developing Shinigami power could completely mask any traces of Quincy characteristic in an impure Quincy descendant's Reiatsu.

"Nothing but coincident. The case is closed then." He honestly enjoyed talking with the doctor, but at that moment he was content that they both wordlessly agreed to enjoy the silence for the rest of the flight.

A few moments passed and they were already near their destination. The airship slowed down considerably as it approached a grand medieval castle on the cliff-side of a mountain in Germany. It was the Startlicht castle, the place where the Quincy had first began their empire. The Reishi barrier around the architecture was powerful enough to hide it for over a millennia. The Sternritter and their two allies had arrived there six days ago through a portal from Silbern, followed by several battalions of Soldat a day later. They all had been working tirelessly to clean up and upgrade their new but very old base since they arrived. In result, the castle had surely regained its former glory. And the technological advancement done by their only Shinigami member had made it not less high-tech than any government's secret facility. All in all, the preparation was mostly done, and the war was ready to begin.

* * *

The day had finally come for him to set the real campaign of his last mission in motion. He already had a long discussion with the Sternritter Grandmaster regarding their plan and objectives in the war. All of their forces had already been briefed about the ins and out of the 'new' world as well as their methods to attain victory. Naturally almost every Quincy basically was against the decision to save the Shinigami if not for their emperor's decree. Even then, only select few were willing to help with the task. It was not until he pointed out the great advantage they could have by freeing the Gotei 13 from Aizen's control that more of them decided to cooperate. Of course, having the Grandmaster's full support also played a big part in how much influence his words had over them. And it boosted his confidence seeing the ones who supported him nodded at him as he entered the meeting hall for the final briefing.

"Once again under the banner of Lichtreich, the time has come for us to continue our grand crusade. It is time for the Quincy to claim our destiny as the God's chosen hierarchs. The emperor has given his blessing. By his words, you are not meant to see Toushiro Hitsugaya as a mere Shinigami. This man is now our general. Disregarding his words is a crime worthy of a severe punishment." After his short speech, Haschwalth turned towards the young man, giving him a silent permission to speak.

"Thank you, Lord Haschwalth. Alright, there are two foremost objectives in the upcoming war. Those are culling the false god's influence all over the world and disturb the solidity of their forces. Considering our clear disadvantages, it is preferable to utilize two different approaches to achieve both objectives."

"Basically, we are going to form a bait unit with the purpose of turning the world's attention to it, while the rest of our forces work with utmost effectiveness. I'm going to personally lead this unit since it has the highest chance to attract enemy's reinforcement, preferably from Soul Society for obvious reasons."

"Even then, we must not overlook the possibility that the other units encounter the Shinigami forces. Therefore, each unit is required to have at least one member who's knowledgeable about the method to counter Aizen's influence. If you succeed, contact me as soon as possible, so I can speak to them."

"I intend to convince my freed comrades to keep pretending that they're still under the perfect hypnosis and return to Soul Society. We'll make it seem like we ended up losing in most encounter with them. On the contrary, we'll do everything we can to decimate every Arrancar forces we face against. Our aim is to gradually make Aizen lose his trust in his Hueco Mundo minions. We'll break them from the inside without them even realizing it."

"I'm positive that as long as we're not vastly outnumbered, our units could win most of our battles. The Judgelight, the technology I've mentioned before, has been proven to be able to increase the amount of Reishi in the immediate area up to one hundred sixty percent of the Reishi amount in Seireitei. However, the effect cannot last more than sixty minutes and can only be fired consecutively twice before needing to recharge. So we can't afford to be careless."

"The details of our upcoming operations as well as the teams composition can be found in the information center. Please check them out after this. Thank you for your attention. Is there any questions?" Inwardly, he sighed in frustration when he saw a certain psychotic woman raised her hand.

"I happened to wander in that place earlier and caught a glimpse of this 'bait unit' member list. It seems very promising what with two Schutzstaffel in it. The other three are also pretty awesome if I say so myself. Still, I can't help but to wonder if there's any strategical reason why the three of them are females... Not that I blame you of course, if there isn't." Candice smirked mischievously as the general endured all the dirty stares he was getting.

"The reason is indeed strategical. It's true that I have not known all of you for long, but I've studied the data about the abilities of each one of you. Bambietta Basterbine, Meninas McAllon, and you Candice Catnipp are arguably the most destructive Sternritter. And since this unit is basically a havoc squad, I figured the three of you are the most suited individuals for it." It was then his turn to smirk slightly as the woman tried helplessly to make a comeback.

"If none of you have any intelligent questions, I will end this meeting. Begin the preparations immediately. Dismissed." If only it was okay for someone of his standing to do it, the Grandmaster would've groan, expecting another typical bickering between those two to begin again.

Following the order, everyone especially the ones who were going to take part in the first batch of their operations quickly began their work. A few minutes before the designated time, they were ready to move out. The bait unit was assigned with Hitsugaya's airship to get to their destination, whilst the other units utilized public transportation to remain low profiled for the time being. The course of their actions would be monitored by Haschwalth who was expected to stay in the Startlicht castle command center unless the situation absolutely required him to step up. From there, by utilizing the computer that had been entrusted to him, he would be the one to deliver the Judgelight whenever he deemed it necessary. However, the main purpose for him to stay behind was to be a great guardian for their sacred base if things turned badly.

* * *

It was a few hours before dawn that they landed at a remote location miles away from their target destination. They would then finish the rest of the distance 'by foot' to avoid unnecessary troubles with the airship. It was unusual for him to feel this tired after a flight, but quite understandable this time. Seriously, he had to deal with Gerard Valkyrie's persistence attempt to become his best buddy, while having no choice but to hear the Quincy ladies' bizarre version of a girls talk from the passenger seats. After having to endure all of those nonsense, the cool morning breeze felt like a blessing as he casually flash-stepped through the air. By the time the silhouette of a massive city came into view, he already felt freshened up enough to face a battle. It was magnificent indeed, the capital of the arguably strongest new human nation, the Grand State of America.

"What an amazing city... It's such a shame it has to be visited by Bambi-chan and Candi." For Meninas who had not been in the world of the living for more than a millennia, it was hard not to be captivated by the view of such a highly modern city.

"Shut up, Meni. We'll go according to plan. Sternritter, move out! Uh oh... Can someone tell me where we're going?" Once again after so many times, Candice impersonated Toushiro's blunder from the time they left Silbern, and again it still made them laugh out loud.

" _(Sigh)_ We're going to the city to introduce you as a bad alternative electric power source. Now, let's do this." If he hadn't already been tied down to a certain scary Arrancar lady, he would've ravaged this bitch till she submitted to him completely and became as meek as a bunny.

"Heh, that's a good one, general. Don't forget about the deal. You watch and let me handle things... unless your old friends show up, of course." It was rather awkward, but Bambietta had begun to acknowledge this one Shinigami since he surprisingly cared to listen to her seriously despite her hostility.

And it all began with the Sternreitter T lightened up the sky and shaken up the whole city by creating numerous lightning explosions in close proximity with the skyscrapers. In no time, chaos spread out everywhere, and the nation's defense units came to evacuate the citizens. Meanwhile, the Sternritter E took over the city's local broadcasting station and forced the staffs to assist her. At once, the large displays located on various places all around the city showed a pretty but sinister young woman in white uniform. The dark haired woman proudly declared that the Light Empire had come to liberate humanity from the dark age of the fake god's reign. As predicted, every Arrancar stationed there that had been acting as the nation's government immediately showed up in their true form. Most of them were Aizen's newer type creations, and close to the level of the lower class Espada in strength.

As the dawn began to break, the excitement for a battle after being in isolation for so long drove all the Sternritter into frenzy. Thankfully, they still had enough senses to take the fights away from the ground level, sparring any unlucky humans from becoming unnecessary casualties. Wearing the Schutztaffel cloak with the hood up, the former Shinigami Captain observed the ensuing battles from the top of the highest tower in the city. His attention was mostly focused towards the other Schutztaffel, the one Quincy that he was most wary of. It was clear that the Sternritter M was toying with the five Arrancar he faced against, grinning widely for each blow he scored and suffered. He didn't even seem to use his Schrift while at the same time the girls had been using theirs to wreak havoc. It was a long outnumbered battle, one that took them almost a day to finish off the last of their foes.

"Listen up! Your fake guardians have all fallen. They were nothing but poorly disguised oppressors. Now with this, this land has become a part of Lichtreich!" Standing on a pedestal under a large griffon statue at the city center, Bambietta proudly wave around the Empire of Light's flag for everyone to see.

"Hey, Toushi. You know how you've actually been giving her the chance to further boost up her ego, right? Those cameras all around her surely made her think like she was some kind of celebrity." Both Candice and Toushiro were sitting rather closely together on a bench, watching the commotion from a distance.

"That means she does her part well, just like each one of you. And now that the war has officially begun, it's just a matter of time until Aizen responses to our invitation." Right then he paused to wave at his pink-haired comrade whom cheerfully approached them before taking a seat at his other side.

"Uh oh, am I interrupting something? You guys looked like a dating couple being lovey-dovey for a moment there..." Instantly, the poor girl received absolutely deadpanned looks from the other two for her unintelligent quip.

"Let's ignore this airhead. Just consider her as some sort of decoration for this bench. Anyway, any idea why those human didn't try to fight us? I heard they have some pretty cool war machines nowadays." During the battle she caught a glimpse of one of those things, but strangely it just did nothing.

"They believed their government consisted of the god's chosen heralds and were the true power behind this nation's greatness. Therefore, it is to be expected that they gave up completely once they saw them be defeated by four strangers." Actually he was glad that that the humans were rather rational this time.

" _(Sigh)_ You guys are so mean. It's better to just leave the two lovebirds alone, I guess... Um maybe I should tell Gerard about this?" Ignoring her friends' annoyed looks this time, Meninas left to find the big Sternritter.

* * *

The Heavenswards' residence had become mostly quite these days, not that she minded it though. By her order, two of her sisters would still stay in the Negal Ruins for the time being. They had reported back to her, and she decided that they would be more needed there with the refugees than here with her. She was quite content living only with Mila Rose, and really appreciated her caring nature. Still, she felt bad that the brunette had made it her duty to do all of the house chores by herself to the point that sometimes she seemed more like a maidservant. Unfortunately, she knew all too well how stubborn her sister could be if it concerned her well being. So then, the only thing she could do to show her gratitude was by being closer to her, making her feel like they were not any less than real blood related sisters. It was by doing little things such as regularly watching TV together in their cozy living room.

"TV shows these days... _(Groan)_ Even in silly romance series, there are rarely any episodes without some stupid Aizen worshiping in it." In irritation, Mila Rose switched the channel that showed a teenage girl who didn't appear to be clear whether she was actually confessing to her crush or to her god.

" _(Chuckle)_ Well... Looking back, I used to be as cringe worthy as that silly girl, didn't I?" Ashamedly Tier still remembered how she was so captivated by her old master to the point that she considered him as her love interest.

"Hey... Regardless how much he deserves to rot in hell for what he's done, he still saved you once. It's normal for a girl to feel attached to someone who saved her. But, forget about that. You've already found someone whom you can trust your heart to now." It was clear to see to her that her pregnant sister honestly had fallen in love with Toushiro Hitsugaya despite her apathetic facade.

"You mean that kid who kidnapped me, restrained my power, and then knocked me up before leaving me behind once he got tired of me?" Well, that sounded much crueler than what actually happened, but she couldn't help it, what with her moodiness as of late.

"You know that's not true, Tier. You will see him again sooner than you expected." Not wanting to keep the blonde in a somber mood, she continued to browse the channel to distract her, until she stopped at a news channel that was having a breaking news.

It showed the chaotic view of Griffon's Arch, the new capital of a super power human nation in the aftermath of a great battle. The reporter mentioned that before dawn, a small band of invaders had appeared so suddenly following a series of great lightning explosions all over the city. A woman who was suspected as the leader then declared their intention against the new god's reign. In response, the government or the nation guardians to be exact confronted them and the city became a battlefield between powerful spiritual beings. It had only been about twenty minutes after the battle was over with their guardians' complete defeat to their despair. The screen then changed quickly to show the woman from earlier waving around a foreign flag while proclaiming their victory around the media. She was a quite beautiful young woman, wearing a set of unidentified white uniform complete with a white cap on top of her head.

"Lichtreich? Have you ever heard about it before?" She knew that her mistress had lived far longer than her and definitely possessed much more knowledge.

"The Empire of Light was an infamous Quincy empire. A thousand years ago back when I was still a lesser Hollow, I heard they waged war against the Gotei 13 and ended up lost. Since then, they has never been heard again... until now." Somehow she could still foggily remembered the memory from a very long time ago when she ventured to the world of the living and heard several Adjuchas talked about it.

On the TV, there appeared a few journalists making futile attempts to get an interview with the woman who identified herself as the Sternritter E. After a few moments, the camera zoomed up to catch the two figures on top of the griffon statue. There was a pink haired woman with a similar uniform as the other one, talking excitedly with a hulking man who wore a large cape. The view switched back down again suddenly. This time the camera moved a good distance away from the statue before showing another two persons sitting on a bench. A woman wearing a more revealing version of the white uniform could be seen resting her head on the shoulder of the man seating beside her with her eyes closed. The man himself wore a hooded cloak that at that exact moment got swept down by the wind, revealing him to be a very handsome 'teenager' with unruly white hair.

"You're right, Mila Rose. It is indeed sooner than I expected..." For some reasons, it hurt to look at his face again, so she decided to inspect the green haired woman who seemed to be asleep by his side.

"I - I don't think that guy is who you think he is, Tier. I mean, Hitsugaya-san is a Shinigami, and it's not a secret that Shinigami and Quincy are polar opposites. They hate each other. There's no way he would ever be that close with a Quincy." Never before had she ever seen the ex Espada looked so fragile like that, and it broke her heart to see her still trying to appear unwavering as usual.

"Don't be silly. That Quincy is a woman, a very attractive one at that. He's simply back to his true nature." How foolish of her to think that she alone would be enough to ever satisfy him, she bitterly realized.

* * *

It didn't appear on his still impassive face, but he honestly felt somewhat annoyed with his current predicament. Just several minutes ago he was having an unusually serious discussion with this woman, but when another bickering was about to begin, she suddenly fell silent. It wasn't until her head fell on his right shoulder and she unconsciously snuggled close to him that he realized she had fallen asleep. He then heard someone calling him from the top of the big statue, and saw Meninas winked at him and Gerard gave him a thumbs up. What the hell was wrong with his unit?! This was so messed up and to make it worse, he suddenly noticed that Candice Catnipp actually drooled on his exclusive Schutzstaffel coat. If he wasn't being considerate with her fatigue state, he would have strangled her already. When he suddenly felt several powerful Reiatsu appeared, he never thought he would feel this relieved.

"Wake up, you female dog. Wipe your drool. It's time to fight." He said it loud and close enough to her ear to wake her up in an instant.

"H-Hey! I don't mind being called a bitch, but a female dog?! Really, Toushi? Yeah, I know they basically mean the same, but - Wait, I so didn't drool!" For some reasons she seemed to be much more worried about keeping her reputation than the upcoming battle.

"Yeah yeah, you just licked my shoulder. Now, pay attention. There are nine of them, and all appear to be high ranking Shinigami. Our priority is to save them, but it means nothing if you have to risk your life to do so. Just... don't get killed, Candice." With that, he immediately headed to where the Senkaimon appeared without noticing a faint blush appeared on her surprised face.

It turned out he wasn't completely correct in his deduction, he realized as the opponents' Reiatsu turned to resemble more of Hollows all of a sudden. His mind already made a good guess on their identities, but as he was about to report back to the base, a pure black Zanpakuto coming from behind forced him to act on instinct. The hand he was holding Hyorinmaru with wavered slightly as it blocked the deadly blow from Tensa Zangetsu that was aimed at his back. In quick succession, he fired a Sokatsui spell backward with his left hand and then flash-stepped away from his reeling opponent. It felt rather nostalgic to finally meet an old friend again even in this unfortunate circumstances. Deep down he was somewhat glad that Ichigo Kurosaki had donned his Hollow mask, because that way he could fight without hesitation at seeing a friend's face.

"Getsuga Tensho!" The all too familiar powerful attack was launched with such intensity that made it impossible to evade from.

Toushiro reacted in time to encased himself with a Tozansho spell, protecting him from the destructive energy until it shattered just as the attack ceased. There was no time to breath though, because in a split second he had to avoid being impaled by the black blade as the wielder suddenly appeared from above. His opponent's attacks were absolutely relentless and brutal, possibly because Aizen's hypnosis had managed to even influence his Hollow. Hopefully someone from his unit had reported back to request the Judgelight, since he didn't think he would have the chance to do so. At this rate, only with quick thinking and strategic planning would the real objective of this operation possibly be accomplished. He decided to continue on the defensive against the Vizard's unrelenting assaults, but all the while also silently used Niju Eisho to prepare two Kido spells at the same time.

"Hado #63. Raikoho!" The violent golden lightning strike of the spell only manage to burn Ichigo's sleeve as he moved aside easily, but it was actually pretty much what he expected.

"Bakudo #99. Kin." Just as he had planned, his opponent stood exactly at the place where black spiritual fabrics suddenly appeared to bind his arms behind his back and then warped his entire body before pinning him to the ground with the help of several iron shafts.

"Finally... The battle has started to turn in our favor." He looked up in relief as a huge burst of light came from the sky and briefly engulfed the city in a complete brightness, resulting in a rapid increase of Reishi particles in the air.

" _(Chuckle)_ I'LL KILL YOU!" The shout coming from the incapacitated Vizard was inhuman as some black and red Reiatsu wildly engulfed him until they dispersed a moment later, showing him in his complete Hollowfied form with the shredded remains of the binding fabrics around him.

"I don't think so." Sensing that the girls had all activated their Volstandig, he too decided to go all out as misty aura surrounded his body.

Just from a first glance, Toushiro could tell that his opponent's Vasto Lorde -like form was at least on par with Tier's Segunda Etapa. That meant the whole city would be reduced to rubble if he didn't move the battle elsewhere. With a Shunpo he then reappeared high above the city, and as expected the Vizard that had become more like a mindless beast followed him in a blink of an eye. To his surprise though, there in between the tips of the beast's horns, a big Cero was already in full charge and ready to be fired. But the distance between them was too close, so there was no other option for him but to endure the devastating attack head-on. Fortunately, thanks to his Reaper Shroud form's astounding durability and the fact that the Cero itself wasn't nearly as dangerous as Tier's finishing move, he managed to emerge from the explosion with only minor bruises.

The following fight happened immediately and if only they weren't this high in the sky, they would undoubtedly decimate anything that get in their way. With this much intensity, there was no room in this fight for anything other than melee clashes, but as usual it didn't keep Toushiro from thinking ahead. The best strategy against Hollows is to focus on breaking their masks, but it would be far from easy. It was not until he managed to cut off the beast's horns with Hitotsume: Nadegiri technique that he deemed it safe enough to proceed his plan. With a roar, his enraged opponent impaled his sword forward, but instead of blocking or evading, he thrust his own sword forward, making it closely parallel with the black blade. In an extremely fast pace, he used Hyorinmaru's power to freeze both blades in place, before sending a devastating kick at the mask with his metal boot, shattering it instantly.

"I'll welcome you back soon, Kurosaki." He didn't waste time to draw two special-made syringes containing the antidote that he then carefully injected into the momentarily stunned Substitute's Saketsu and Hakusui points.

* * *

Sometimes later, the newly appointed Schutzstaffel felt silly for being somewhat cautious about the state of the city, since it ended up devastated nonetheless. The Judgelight's contribution was proven to be more potent than even he had expected. Maybe his decision to bring the three most destructive Sternritter was not really wise after all, considering how much damage they had inflicted with their Volstandig. However, the one most responsible over the grand capital city's utter destruction was none other than the other Schutzstaffel. The man still didn't use his Volstandig, but the devastation he caused with his 'godly size' as he battled and won against three former Captain Vizards was simply unbelievable. Even though the human casualties were rather high, Toushiro decided to not think too much about it. He was not a hero and had no desire to be one, but he did take a moment to pay respect nevertheless.

As long as their objectives were completed, he would consider it a success. His new Quincy comrades in the end managed to incapacitated all of his old Vizards comrades. After they were freed, he surprised them by revealing his identity as the one and only Toushiro Hitsugaya. He then surprised them further when he explained his grand scheme as well as his alliance with the Wandenreich Quincy. After some consideration, the Vizards all asked to join him, but he denied their request by explaining his special plan for them. All nine of them would return to Soul Society 'victorious' and act like they were still under Aizen's influence for the time being. They reluctantly agreed and this time asked him to give them the antidotes so they could at least do something while in there, but once again he refused. It wasn't easy, but he managed to convince them that the method was too risky for them to use without being exposed.

"Now answer this, baldy. How in the hell could you become this tall, huh?! It's not fair! I've been waiting so long to grow up to be the hot woman I'm supposed to be. I want boobs too dammit!" Instinctively, the forever short Hiyori Sarugaki used her sandal to knock out a certain idiot as soon as she heard a snicker.

"Wait a sec. How tall was Toushi when you two last met?" Candice would never miss any opportunity to find out about anything that she could use against him.

"I was definitely taller than this loud brat -" This time it was his chance to taste the infamous sandal, but fortunately he could block it in time.

"Are you now a coward, baldy? Ha! You're afraid your girlfriend would know that you were so shorter than me!" Honestly, she also couldn't believe her rival in height had managed to get himself a girlfriend (she'd bet the slutty Quincy bitch was his girlfriend).

"Me? A coward? Ridiculous. I'm also in fact not bald. And who do you assume as my girlfriend? This psychotic female dog? Not a chance." At that moment, he was too annoyed with Hiyori to notice the said psycho's hurt expression and her best friend's disappointed glare.

"Okay okay. Enough, you two. We'll go back to Soul Society once Shinji wakes up. In the meantime, I need to talk with Toushiro. Come on, Toushiro." As the two walked side by side, the Substitute was still rather dumbfounded that he and the ex Captain were around the same height.

" _(Sigh)_ I'm sorry for your loss, Kurosaki. Your family, I mean." He doubted anyone in the real Karakura town survived from being sacrificed by Aizen.

"Why did they have to die? Karin... Yuzu... It should've been me, the reckless stupid me... or the old goat who never told us that he's also a Shinigami all along. That moron... He should have been there to protect his daughters!" Once he met his old man again in Seireitei, he would so beat him into a pulp.

"It is fine to grief. It is understandable to be angry. But don't forget about the ones who are still there for you. If you want justice, you have to kill the reckless stupid you." He could tell already from first glance that the Substitute had matured a bit, and not just physically.

"You're right. There are still Chad, Ishida, Rukia, Renji, and the others. Someday we'll make everything right again. Still... This is what I meant to ask you, Toushiro. Inoue... I haven't seen her since that time in Las Noches. Do you know what happened to her?" He blamed Aizen for making him lose himself, but he also couldn't help but to blame himself for not remembering that sweet girl who had always been there for him.

"Unfortunately no. But you have to believe, Kurosaki. She needs you to believe, to preserve your hope... for the both of you." In the end he decided to not be honest, because there was a high chance the Substitute would go completely berserk and risk their plan if he heard the truth.

"Even though I got no answer, that is exactly what I need to hear. Thank you. I won't disappoint her... or anyone else ever again. Well, it looks like Shinji is up again. I'll see you later, Toushiro." Feeling much better, he patted the other boy's shoulder before heading toward his Vizards friends.

"The time will come, Kurosaki. **We'll take everything back**." He allowed himself a smile as he looked at the hero who even though didn't look back, raised his hand casually in salute.

* * *

 **So far I've been trying to prevent Toushiro from using his Bankai as much as possible. It's because I think the completed Daiguren Hyourinmaru's ability that can negate the functions and abilities of anything he freezes is overpowered. This combines with his Shikai Hyouketsu that allows him to freeze all matter in front of him and the fact that anyone who touches him will be flash-frozen could potentially make him invincible.**


End file.
